Carol Fisher-Linn
Forest Gump’s mom was right. Life really is a box of chocolates. Every piece you pull out is a surprise – some pleasant and some, well, not so much.
As I wander through this candy box called life, I am delighted when I serendipitously fall upon some of the sweetest pieces in the box. Let me share a few of them with you.
Meet Trey Young. My husband and I passed him holding a sign saying “Free Hugs” as we were on our way to an appointment in Williamsville a few weeks back. I wanted to stop, but my ever-cautious husband was sure he was up to no good, so we passed him by. Recently, we had another appointment and, there he was, advertising his “FREE HUGS” on a large sign he held up for all to see. This time, I insisted we stop. We pulled up, I jumped out and asked for my free hug from this BIG handsome, well-dressed young man. “Why are you here? I inquired. Do you need money?” No, he was not collecting money, he was distributing hugs. Why? “Because we all need a hug now and then, and there are people out here who haven’t had a hug for a very long time.” He expanded on that by asking me to think about people I might know who don’t know the touch of another human being – maybe they live alone or are widowed or have no one. I realized that, indeed, we may all very well know someone who needs the touch of human kindness. This twenty-three-year-old young man is associated with Zion Global Ministries in Williamsville and can be found several afternoons a week (until sunset) in the Glen Park area, reminding us that God loves us even when we think no one else does. And he’s out there, reminding us about that love through his hugs. This big teddy bear of a guy said, “Everyone needs to know they are loved, and you never know when one hug might change a person’s life.” Now, there is one very sweet piece of chocolate, indeed.
Sometimes, life just can’t stop giving sweet surprises. A short while after the encounter with Trey, my husband wanted to stop at Cabella’s. I chose to remain in the car for a few minutes and then headed in. Approaching the door, I saw a man urge his beautiful young dog to jump up onto a large rock out front and walk away to look at equipment further away in front of the store. I stopped to pet the dog, then called out to the man, asking if we weren’t concerned she would run off. His name was Jim; hers was Rosie, a three-year old labradoodle. Jim was recently retired from a hair salon business he and his wife ran in Clarence. Remarking about how well behaved she was, he told me that pre-Covid, he took her, then a young puppy, to visit his mom at The Brothers of Mercy Wellness Campus in Clarence. Now that things are back to normal Jim and Rosie are returning to Brothers of Mercy to have Rosie visit with the people living there. He carries a small container of peanut butter with him. As they visit, he asks if they would like a kiss from Rosie. If yes, he asks them to point where (cheek, hand, etc.) and he dabs a bit of peanut butter on the spot, and Rosie “kisses” as she licks off the peanut butter. The people love her kisses and her visits. Why does he go? “People love to see Rosie and are reminded of pets they once had and loved,” said Jim. “It makes them happy.” Sweet, sweet, sweet.
As far as those chocolates I’d take one bite out of and pitch, I’ve had several instances in the last few months where salespersons lie just to make a sale. We wanted hearing aids checked, eyeglasses repaired, and a phone line switched, and in each instance, we were lied to. We caught the first two, but I am now stuck trying to undo the one about my land-based phone line. Word of caution, take your time and do your homework whenever you are making a big financial decision. Don’t bite unless it’s a piece of chocolate you know you’re going to love.