Odd but Appreciated Gallantries

Thank you to the nice man in the truck whom I delayed while crossing the street this morning (in the crosswalk, in a totally legitimate way). On my way across the street I gave one of my signature tiny squeaky double sneezes. As he drove through the crosswalk he leaned out his window and warmly barked "Gesundheit!" I love when people go slightly out of their way to be kind and gracious to strangers. This incident was particularly touching, since typically morning drivers try to intimidate or collide with me.

Also appreciated: the adorably reticent roughneck teenager who pulled the subway doors apart for me so I could get to work 10 minutes earlier. I wasn’t acting demanding or desperate, and had wanly accepted that I was about 8 seconds too late to catch the train, so I was surprised when he insistently pulled the doors apart. As they kept trying to snap shut I was afraid to get too close because I was very impressed by the MTA publicity campaign about the dangers of getting caught in the doors. (His determination ultimately trumped the steely bureaucracy of the train’s operation and I quickly bounced in next to him.) He was very sweet, although I suspect he was at least as motivated by the adventure of battling the train as by philanthropy.