GOOD DEED - DAVID

It’s been a long while since I added anything new to my “GOOD DEED A DAY” topic. I try to do little things everyday that would fit under this topic but to me, it’s more than just a good deed, I consider it decency. I think the idea and act of “common courtesy” is an overlooked trait. So I feel if I mention a few acts, I may be able to inspire at someone. Even if it only inspires one person, I’m hoping that 1 kind act will inspire that person enough to pay it forward. And ideally, it would trickle throughout society in turn.

I enjoy my drives home. It’s one of the few alone times that I get and it gives me about 30 minutes to myself to meditate and reflect on the day and on life. About halfway through my drive, I see a lanky bearded man in the shadows. He’s holding 2 bags and is hitching a ride. Based on his appearance, I felt that unless someone knows who he is, odds are he wasn’t about to be picked up. I realized this after I passed him. About ¼ of a mile down the highway, I make a U turn and head back in his direction. I go a bit pass him before making another U turn and I stop in front of him. Honestly for a second I thought, “Man, I hope I’m making the right decision”. He comes over to the car and asks me if I was going upcountry. Though I wasn’t, I told him I could at least take him to Kahului where there are more people going upcountry and he’d have a better chance of being helped.

As he got into my car and got situated, I get introduced to David. He tells me that he just finished a wedding photo shoot in Wailea (a really high class area) where he was also playing music. David told me he was saving up some money to buy a hand me down car to get around and move to town to be closer to everything. He really surprised me when he told me he acts at the Old Iao Theater. David looked far from the acting type. After 10 short minutes or so, we came upon Wal-Mart which is pretty much the hub of the island. As David was getting out of the car, he expressed how thankful he was for me helping him. I told him it was no problem and I felt bad that I couldn’t take him where he needed to go (it would’ve taken me about 2 hours to get home).

The rest of my ride home was really nice. I at first felt bad for judging him the way I did when I seen him waiting. On the other hand, I felt much better considering that I looked past that and helped someone in need. It’s a very clichéd statement, but very poignant to this matter: “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. If I did, I would have never had the pleasure to have met such a nice well rounded individual, beard and all.