Hockey and Acts of Kindness

My friend since first grade, Collette, is a rabid hockey fan since her grandson Scott became a hockey whiz(Go, Scott!). So when she told me to watch NHL playoffs in Edmonton, I said I would. It was great fun because there is so much action in a hockey match, and the penalties are just what we all could use against people we may not like: tripping, roughing, interfering, slashing.  Love the sound of that. The atmosphere was interesting even though I don't know most of the rules. But It also emphasizes teamwork, one player passing to another, one player helping to make the goal.

Off the rink there are experiences that show the same ideas. When we were doing Teahouse of the August Moon as a one-act play, we went to Smyer for district competition. Our early rehearsal went well, and there was a break before we would be getting ready for the performance in front of a judge. And then Craig who was playing the part of a general  came to me with a pained look on his face.

"You're gonna kill me."

"Why would I do that? What did you do?"

"I left my dress shoes in Wilson."

So we would have an officer in perfect, full military uniform wearing tennis shoes. There was nothing we could do except wait for the experienced judge to give critical comments about not having a complete costume.

I had been standing with the one act coach and principal from Smyer when Craig made his announcement, so I turned back to them and thew up my hands. The coach and I continued to talk as the principal left. Time passed, and we were closer to our assigned performance time. It was then the principal came back with a sack and handed it to me. "See if these will fit. I'm guessing he's about a 13, and I am, too." And there were the principal's Sunday shoes. He had gone home, gotten the shoes, and returned to give them to a young man he didn't know as a help for a competitor's play.

Sometimes a  group gives everything it has to help others. The Cibolo Grange is a volunteer organization which was the lifeblood of Cibolo from 1941 until the city began to experience a growth spurt in the late 1960s. The Grange members had worked hard to raise money for a volunteer fire department truck which they proudly accomplished through sausage suppers and chicken dinners. Then they continued to give volunteer hours so they could get enough money for pouring a concrete slab for a garage that would be built  for the truck's protection. Word came that the great deal they had on the concrete would expire and be costly unless they could pour it  immediately. It was  Christmas Eve. On a cold, dark night  Grange volunteers came to build forms and pour concrete as women supplied them with hot coffee and sandwiches. There was no whining that they were giving up their holiday and family time; they did what they had to do for their community even on the night before Christmas.

Obvious lesson: we can all do simple things to help those around us, and in these times when fear is so prevalent, maybe it is the perfect time to reach out to a neighbor or friend or stranger. The chances come more often than we think, and it is up to us to take them before they are gone. Joy in giving can be on an ice rink, in a shoe closet, or ankle deep in cement. Look for it every day.