I was passing through pancit canton's blog when I read this. It reminded me of a similar, yet not so similar, thing that happened to me once. My misfortune was not the same as his. But it made me believe in the kindness of strangers. About 2 years ago, I was on my way to the US for a business trip. This was before 9-11 and the plane was not really full. I was seated beside a Filipina who I later found out was a nurse in the US. We didn't talk much during the flight, I slept through most of the 14 hours. But before we landed on US soil, we did manage to strike a conversation. She was going back to the US after a vacation and I told her that it was my first time to go abroad. I don't know if it was because I looked like a sheep that would be thrown into a lion's den, but she held my hand and said, "Hija, take this. Magliwaliw ka sa airport. Matagal pa ang flight mo e." And in my hand is a crisp $20 bill. Of course being the pinoy that I am, I refused the money and handed it back to her. Sabi lang niya, take it and enjoy the 5 hours that you have. Who am I to refuse the $20? So I took it, and bought a magazine in the airport to keep me entertained. Later on during my stay, I lost $40 while going around in SFO. To the lady who gave me $20, Thanks for making me believe in the kindness of strangers.

DA GANDA blogged @ 1/05/2003 07:29:00 PM