Faith. That is what CM Punk said to the Nexus – McGillicutty, Otunga and Harris – before the introduction of their new strongman, Mason Ryan, as a pivotal part of their plan to take over RAW. John Cena found out, to his dismay, that CM Punk was also willing to “sacrifice himself” by getting hit to win the match by disqualification, scoring a point for the Nexus.
But I digress. Faith is also what I have in mankind – no, not Mick Foley – because I believe that people are inherently altruistic, and willing to help another in need. Before I get accused of living in a rainbow-sunshine-hippy-funtime bubble again, let me justify why my faith in peoplekind has just been renewed.
I am now in the Best Western Apollo Museumhotel, but I would never have made it on time had it not been for two complete strangers willing to drive me to the Hauptbahnhof – that’s main train station for those of you who don’t speak German – without any questions. M and I, whose names are obscured here because I can’t recall their names at the moment, and also because of the very German concern for Datenschutz – that’s data security – principles, were pulling out of the parking lot at the Tanzcafe, and I stopped them to ask for a favour. Crazy, I know, but at the time I was in such a rush to get to the station after having missed what I’d thought was the last bus that I was randomly sticking my thumb in the air as I walked down the street, hoping one of the drivers passing by – and there might have been ten – would be nice enough to ferry me there. None of them did, of course. I met L, a friend who stays in the same residence as I do, and borrowed her phone (naturally, my battery was dead…) to try to call for a cab. Even then, I knew I was pressed for time. I had 15 minutes to get to the station and into the train before it left. I made the call and got a cab, but I was told it would only arrive in 10-15 minutes. That wouldn’t do.
“You make your own luck,” I told myself. I don’t usually do this, but I ignored the cab and walked on, hoping for some sort of help.
Sorry, unnamed cab driver, for wasting a little bit of your time.
Just after the bus stop was the Tanzcafe where I noticed M and I pulling out of the parking lot, and decided to, yes, try my luck.
I explained my situation to them, and they asked me to get in without any hesitation. 15 minutes was more than enough time to get to the station, and despite a short detour – M had taken the wrong turn and had to change lanes – I was able to get there at the stroke of 19.35 according to the clock outside the station. M wished me luck, and told me to make a run for the train.
Nodding, I shook M’s hand and pressed ten euros into it, more than what the taxi fare would have been, but far less than what I owed him for the favour. It was about all I had at the time.
He refused. Twice.
So I thanked him again and made a beeline for the station, all the while hoping that either the clock was fast, or the train was delayed, preferably both.
When I got there, a quick glance at the electronic departures board showed no train leaving for Amsterdam at 19.35, but there was one at 19.53 instead. Odd, I thought. These regional trains don’t usually travel that frequently. As it turned out, I’d misread the time on the ticket. Damn, transpose error!
And now I had the time to find a place to print my ticket, instead of having to cross my fingers and hope the conductor would understand my plight. Which was another thing I’d forgotten to do in my rush. And everything had fallen into place, just like that, thanks to the unconditional help M and I offered me.
Sure, I could have saved myself all the nail-biting had I left earlier, but I’d chosen to take some time out to investigate a computer problem a friend of mine had. Which, by the way, kept me up to date on current Windows threats as well – the Windows User Satellite was a particularly savvy malware that is currently making its rounds, more on that later – so I even learned something from it.
So this is why my belief in human kindness has been renewed somewhat. Some people might choose to attribute this chain of events to a superior power somewhere, and they might be right, but I think that if there really is one, that power is merely keeping score and not doing anything else.
I could be wrong, but I never really begrudge anyone their beliefs, nor impose mine on others – even for Linux vs Windows, I try to present a balanced picture – so I’ll just leave it at that for now.
If this opening is anything to go by, this two-week Euro trip with family will be absolutely unforgettable. And I can only keep my fingers crossed that it’s for the right reasons.
Faith, my friends, faith.
Work work work…