A Memorable Soul

One snowy day in early 1993, I made my way to a subway station near the University of Toronto, ready to go home after a long day of classes.  My heart sank when I opened my wallet to find that I had run out of subway tokens. With no credit card or cash to my name, I thought over my options and decided that the best action was to ask for help.

I vividly remember the kind lady who saved me that day - she wore a long plaid winter coat, perfectly round spectacles, and had the look of a graduate student or young professor. When she stepped outside from the revolving door of the Bay subway station, I made eye contact and explained that I had lost track of my token count and was wondering if she could lend me a single subway token to get home. If she would give me her name and address, I promised to pay her back.

I must have looked pretty pitiful and ashamed of my predicament, as she reached into her wallet without hesitation and gave me a subway token. When I asked for her address so that I could compensate her, she gave me a friendly wave and said "no worries," the first time in my young life that I had heard that expression.

I never saw her again, but that moment and her willingness to help a complete stranger remains with me all these years later, and I imagine it's a memory that I'll cherish for the rest of my days.

The other evening while our younger son was meeting with friends in downtown Toronto, I made my way over to the campus of the University of Toronto, curious to see how much the area has changed over the past 30 years. I walked past the entrance to the Bay subway station and felt a warmth within as I remembered that day when a complete stranger showed me the beautiful kindness that exists in our world. With that moment in mind, I bought a small mountain of 3-packs of mochi rice cakes from an express Korean grocery store, and over the course of a nostalgic walk around campus, experienced the great pleasure of surprising people of all walks and ages with fresh rice cake.

Two things I took away from that magical evening: first, if life presents an opportunity to revisit a place where you grew up or went to school, I wouldn't hesitate to take it - what a wondrous feeling it is to breathe in places where you experienced countless triumphs and struggles many years ago. And second, there is magic in remembering people who have been a blessing to you, and honouring their goodness by paying their kindness forward.