There is so much crap news out there I make it my business to broadcast good stories. I repeat them to myself and others until I am convinced that my own faith in human nature has solid ground.
Two of my neighbours, who are very good men, were out running in the middle of nowhere yesterday on a steep escarpment, overlooking bush and forrest when they spotted a woman climbing awkwardly and unsucessfully in a pair of flip flops.
The shouted to her “Are you alright?” and there was something about her that told them she really wasn’t.
They pulled her up and began to ask her about herself. Why was she here, where was she headed and was she ok. Her pants were rolled up – she explained that she had crossed a river.
Soon it became apparent that she was not okay. She was troubled. She said “I have lost my way”. She had no ID, money or phone. It seemed clear that she was suffering from some form of mental illness but at the same time she was no different from anyone. She could be our daughters, mothers or friends. There is a thread often that keeps us well and stable, just a thread, and sometimes that thread unravels due to a series of things unforeseen.
She told the two men a bit about her life- she had been at University, gotten pregnant, married and then split up. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t. But she was troubled and uneven.
They called 911. The police finally came. Apparently she had ‘escaped’ from CAMH.
The whole experience took over an hour and a half. These men had other places to be, committments and duties. But they stayed with her. They made sure she was no longer lost.
People are so busy in this city, they forget to be human, they forget to fit in civility and compassion. I could not wait to tell my children this story- when one of the men came over for a glass of wine I made him re tell it to us all.
And I couldn’t wait to tell you.
you are this story, my darling!
I love this story, Village!!