I Broke The Rules (But I’m Not Really Sorry)

byParthaB

4.1K followers

3 years ago

I almost feel I should add a disclaimer to this post.

After much talk about the “relevancy” of WA blog posts over the past few weeks, what I share with you today certainly isn’t “business-related”, well not a first glance anyway.

So, if you are looking for specific tips, tricks, and methods to improve SEO, article writing, video production, etc. I suggest you hit the back button, as you won’t find them here.

With that said, I do actually feel there are a few “human” lessons to be learned here, many of which would stand you in good stead in the business environment.

I’m sure there’s a moral to the story I’m about to tell, something we can use in our everyday business activities, but I’ll leave you to decipher what that is.

A Little Background to My Story

I’ve pretty much lived in the same 3-mile radius for most of my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I am well-travelled, I lived close by to the University I went to for 4 years, and I’ve even spent over 6 months “living” in a foreign country.

However, for the vast majority of my life I’ve pretty much resided in the same area.

To give you an idea of where I am, here’s a few famous landmarks that are literally a stone’s throw away.

I live a couple of miles away from Harrow Public School.

The world-famous Wembley stadium is about 5 miles away.

Lord’s Cricket Ground is approximately 12 miles down the road.

Monday 21st December 2020 - A True Story

We’ve entered “Tier-4 Lockdown” here in London (and much of the UK), so basically we are pretty much stuck indoors.

All non-essential shops are shut (I knew I should’ve got my haircut last week, but now I have to wait - I’m guessing by the time the hairdresser’s open again I’ll look like a cross between Tom Hanks in his Castaway role and someone who’s stuck their finger in a plug socket).

And there’s pretty much no mixing between households or meeting other people.

Christmas in Cancelled.

So, this morning I went to the local supermarket to do some shopping for a neighbour.

This is an elderly woman who lives on her own.

Her late-husband was actually my late-father’s best friend.

So, ever since my dad departed some 5 years ago, I’ve always kept a close eye on her.

While returning from the shops I noticed an elderly gentleman with his one shopping bag, an inverted umbrella, while struggling in the gale-force wind and torrential rain.

Now, I actually knew who he was.

He’s someone that I’ve seen around for at least the last 30 years.

I remember him from my school-days, and I still regularly see him now.

He actually used to drive around with another gentleman in a bashed-up, old Morris Minor.

They would typically drive down the road at approximately 10mph, holding up the traffic in every direction.

I often wondered what their relationship was, and even about “their story”.

They just seemed like two really sweet old guys.

I even knew where they lived, as I’d often see the Morris Minor parked outside the same particular house.

The front garden was pretty much overgrown with weeds, and they seemed to only venture out in the mornings.

A few months back, my heart literally broke when I saw the car smashed and broken beyond repair at the side of the road, probably waiting to be towed away for good.

Can you imagine driving around in the same car for over 30 years and then suddenly it’s gone forever?

What I found even more sad is that I’ve only seen one of these gentlemen walking around for the last few months, there is literally no sight, nor sound from the other.

I know it goes against all the rules, and I probably shouldn’t share this on a public forum, but it really tugged on my heartstrings to see this “old guy” struggling this morning.

I could actually feel myself welling up, and tears pricked my eyes.

So, I pulled over, and asked him if he wanted a lift.

I assumed he wouldn’t have a clue who I was, so I was about to explain who I was, where I lived, and the fact that even though I had never uttered a single word in his direction, I had “known him” for many years.

As it transpired, no need, he accepted, and got into the back of my car (thus ensuring we did have some distance between us).

We both donned our masks, and I drove him home.

We Talked and I Think We Bonded

I’ll refer to my new “friend” as Mr. W (in order to respect his anonymity).

It turns out Mr. W is 94-years old and he knew exactly who I was.

The journey home took no more than 5 minutes, but we sat in the car and chatted for around 40 minutes (the prawns did not smell or look good afterwards).

He remembered me from my school-days, and even said that I looked exactly the same (the odd-grey hair and creak in the body tells me different).

He even told me that he knew I would be a “good person” just from what he had seen of me over the years - once again, that’s probably up for discussion, but I thanked him for his kind words.

I managed to steer the conversation around to the car and the other gentleman.

As it turns out, they had been lifelong friends, and had known each other for over 80 years.

They had run a successful printing business together, but unfortunately they both lost their wives within 6 months of each other in the early-1980s.

Mr. W had no children and his friend, Mr. S, had a daughter who lived on the other side of the world in Auckland.

Unfortunately, he had hardly seen her over the previous 30 years (ever since her mum died).

I believe Mr. S’s daughter wanted him to move out to New Zealand, but he didn’t want to leave his friend, Mr. W.

As for the car, Mr. W had his first ever road-traffic accident earlier this year, and the car that he had actually been driving for over 40 years as it turns out, was completely written off.

He did say that it felt as though one of the family had died.

However, things were about a turn for the worse... much worse.

Mr. S wasn’t anywhere near as mobile as Mr. W, and his health had been a major concern for a number of years.

Mr.S suffered a massive heart attack in April, and sadly passed away.

I’m not going to lie, I tried my best to hide it from Mr. W, but the tears were freely flowing from my eyes upon hearing this.

I knew I shouldn’t have even been in the car with Mr. W, but my heart just totally went out to him, so I asked him what he was doing for Christmas Day.

I had no idea what he was going to say, or even what I was going to ask (well I did know what I was going to ask).

As it turns out, one of his neighbours often makes him dinners, and will be making him Christmas lunch.

He said he’s more than happy to sit at home, enjoy dinner on his own and listen to the “wireless” (that’s radio for anyone too young to know).

I know what I wanted to say, I know what I wanted to ask, but obviously with current circumstances, it was difficult to come to a decision.

In the end we agreed that I’d pop round on Christmas Day, we’d sit on his deckchairs in the garden (it’s not exactly summer here at the moment, but still), at a safe distance from each other, and just have a chat.

It also turns out that we both have a love of cricket, so I’m thinking watching some highlights of India vs Australia on my phone wouldn’t go amiss.

I know this probably goes against the rules of Tier-4 Lockdown, and I shouldn’t be doing it, but we’ve all had a pretty indifferent year in 2020, I just feel that Mr. W’s has been pretty horrific.

Final Thoughts

We actually talked about a vast array of different subjects in our short time together.

I found Mr. W to be intelligent, good-humoured, knowledgeable, and extremely interesting.

I continue to be amazed by people, and what we can learn from each other, irrespective who we are.

Once again, I know I’m probably breaking countless rules by doing this, and some may even consider me selfish, especially when we look at how terrible 2020 has been, and how many people have lost their lives.

I just can’t let it go - Sorry.

(If anyone has any ideas for a Christmas Gift for a 94-year old man, now would be a good time to speak up).

I look back at some of the things that have been discussed at WA over the past few weeks, e.g. blogs, relevancy, etc.

I have also been amazed to see some extreme rudeness and ignorance between members, both new and old - once again over the last few weeks.

I’ve even seen a severe lack of humility, perhaps even those who seem to have a “superiority complex”.

Well, as far as I’m concerned, “It’s just not Cricket”.

Take a bit of time out for your fellow compatriots.

Listen, engage, laugh, cry, and you may even be lucky enough to learn something new.

Thank You For Reading

Partha