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On this particular day, I head out in the car to run an errand and come to a halt at what can be a notoriously bad T-intersection into a main road. I've literally sat here waiting for 15 minutes before.

The spot where I'm waiting is two lanes wide so vehicles can fit side by side and do the 90 degree turn left or right at the same time. Of course going right at T is always the tougher gap to get when you drive on the left side of the road, as it means you are crossing the closest lane into the far lane so you need two gaps in traffic to complete the turn.

As I wait, I notice a garbage truck approach from behind me and that it veers to the left of me to pull alongside to my left to make that left turn at the T. In an instant I realise this is going to be another of the notorious things about this spot, and a reason you can wait 15 minutes. This truck, waiting next to me, will completely block my view to the left so it will be impossible to see if there's a gap on the other side of the road to make the turn.

So I'll be stuck here until the truck is gone.

And the notorious feeling of hrrrrmppphhh kind of arrives.

Then, as I watch to my left for this truck to sidle up beside me, it doesn't appear. It feels kinda weird because, well, it's a garbage truck so it's biggish and it's like it just disappeared as it went out of view from my rear view mirror, then should have appeared to my left, and didn't.

I look back into my blind spot and sure enough, no the truck didn't disapparate, there it was, stopped a little behind me to my left.

It actually took me a moment to realise what was going on.

Clearly this lovely truck driver, a man I'd estimate maybe in his 30's, realised he would be blocking my view making it impossible for me to make the turn until he was gone.

I think about it and the bigger, really kind, thing that really hits home is that whilst there was no way I impacted his view because he could see clearly either way being up high in his truck was that he looked beyond what only he could see. He chose to see what I could... or couldn't... if he had have pulled right up to the edge of the road next to me, to pull out.

It did enable me to pull out into traffic sooner as a gap appeared in both directions.

Time wise it really probably didn't make a huge difference as it was a fairly quiet time of day, but heart wise it made a huge difference that he'd seen me and my needs. It was maybe tiny, but it really wasn't.

I did my best to wave and give a thumbs up to say thanks as we both went our separate ways. Pretty sure I'll never be separated from this moment now though...
About a month back, I’m driving back home from some local shops.

It’s a lovely day, sunny and still a little warm for autumn. As I climb a hill I notice a young man a way up the street, a gardener, strongly built, covered in the dust and grit of his work. He has a line trimmer in his hands and is working his way along the edge of someone’s lawn. It is in fact the edge on the roadside.

I’m driving up his side of the road and as I get closer, I’m maybe 20m away, I can even hear the whining cutting voice of the trimmer. Then, like a starter’s gun that actually stops people, I see him stop and stand still for no apparent reason. He’s focused on something in the distance that isn’t clear to me and my first assumption is that he’s simply taking a quick break. It’s warm remember. I’m watching the road of course unable to watch too closely. I drive on by not thinking much of it as I do. For no particular reason other than curiosity about when he’s going to start up again, I glance in the rear view mirror after I’ve passed him. I don’t know, maybe he’s hit the wall with his work and I’m curious to find out.

I see him, once I’m about 20m past him, pull the trigger of his trimmer and begin working again.

Hmmmh I think, that’s curious, really must have just needed that break.

Then I see it. I really notice the dust and debris his trimming is sending towards the road. Then I really see it.

The debris would have hit my car.
He did it for my car.
He did it for me.

Eyes back on the road but heart back at that edge trimming kindness, the traffic moves me on quickly but that moment is etched in my memory forever.

Here was a young man with seeing and a kindset at the highest level. And that’s not the kind of generalisation that is often made about his demographic. He shone a light for humanity and kindness.

It’s a different category of ‘seeing’ when you can’t actually see a person - he could only see ‘a car’ remember, he couldn’t actually see me. I really was touched.

Upon reflection, even though it was a fair way down the road that this all dawned on me, I see that I could have turned around and gone back and said something. Even though we won’t always be able to interact like that, I feel sad about that and will carry that forward as fuel to ensure that I do all I can to continue to take such opportunities going forward.

PS Oh wow, I love the fact I can pin this to pretty much the exact lawn edge this happened on! 💥🥰

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-using-a-lawn-mower-to-cut-grass-xWAsrLw_1hk?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash

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