If you have been reading this space for any amount of time, you are probably aware that Amy Trask is a favorite of RW. And that’s not just because she should be the next NFL commissioner either. Following her on social media, you will find that she engages with everyone but does so in a professional and genuinely nice manner.
So when it came time to think about what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, I thought about how nice some people who I’ve never met can be. That may not be a very 2019 thing to say, but it’s true. There are plenty of Amy Trask’s out there in the world. You just have to keep your eyes peeled. With that in mind, here are some people to be thankful for this year:
1) The person who makes eye contact with you and says hi as you walk past him/her.
2) The person who holds the door open for you, even though you’re still 20 yards away from the door.
3) The person who helps the elderly person negotiate a flight of stairs.
4) The person in line with you who strikes up a conversation by asking how your day is going.
5) The person who sees you signaling to get over in traffic and waves you into the lane in front of him/her.
6) The person in line at the supermarket with a basket full of groceries who lets you cut in front after seeing that you have only two items.
7) The person at the gym who stops you before you get on a piece of equipment in order to use the disinfectant wipes to clean it first.
8) The person in the elevator who presses the “door open” button after you get to the lobby and lets everyone out first.
9) The fellow airplane passenger who goes for the armrest at the same time as you but yields and lets you use it.
10) The person at the restaurant who hears a baby crying and instead of shooting a mean look at the parents, walks over and tells the parents how cute their kid is and to not worry about it.
11) The person at the mall who, when asked for directions, walks the stranger to his/her destination instead of giving the complex set of instructions verbally.
12) The person in front of you at an off-ramp who gives the homeless person with the sign a sandwich and a handshake.
13) The person who sees someone being bullied and comes to that person’s aid instead of taking out the cell phone to capture it on video.
14) The person who offers up his/her seat for the person who clearly needs it more.
15) The person who lends someone else an umbrella when it’s raining outside.
16) The person who gets out of his/her car to help the stray animal wandering the street.
17) The person who gives of his/her time and resources without ever requiring any acknowledgement.
18) The person willing to hug a stranger who is in desperate need of that hug.
19) The jovial cashier, the happy bus driver, the friendly fellow rider in the Uber pool, and the stranger who smiles at you just because.
And finally . . .
20) You! Thank you to those of you who email, tweet at, and facebook message Rudin Writes. It is a tremendously warm feeling to engage with each and every one of you.
Happy Thanksgiving 2019 everybody! And hi!