There are plenty of people that remain as acquaintances, nothing more, even after decades of constantly crossing paths. However, every once in a while, we run into a contrary, and make lasting impressions from a fleeting moment.
Raaga and I were in the bay area recently to help host the finals of Telugu spelling bee competition organized by Silicon Andhra Manabadi. It was an eventful weekend, complete with a brief visit to Stanford campus, downtown SFO, Pier39, and a sunset cruise that was rudely interrupted by my freak knee twist, and of course, the awe inspiring younger generation, impressing one and all with their native language fluency.
Any memorable weekend, though never ceases to exist on our minds, does come to an end in real time, and it was time for us to return to Portland. We were told that a volunteer, a local Manabadi parent, was assigned to give us a ride to the airport.
The said volunteer was at the hotel lobby, 15min earlier than scheduled time, pinged me to say that he arrived, but also asserted that he's in no rush, and that we should absolutely take our time checking out of the hotel.
We finally met him outside of the hotel, 10min after the scheduled time. He noticed my crutches, and immediately ran to drive his car out of the parking lot, and brought it closer to the ramp. It took me a while to get into the car, and position my knee in a meta stable state, and we were finally on the road. San Jose airport was only a 15min drive from the hotel. It is the conversation we had in those few minutes that made this an unforgettable encounter.
We talked about our respective careers, our connection with Manabadi, kids, and all the usual questions that fly around within the first few minutes of any first meetings.
The routine broke when he mentioned his wife wanting to get back to work force. He asked for my opinion on what he can do to be a more supportive partner and a more involved parent. I am not an expert on the matter by any means, but I shared my unvarnished opinions anyway, the details of which are not relevant here. It is just that, in my 18years of being a working woman, 13years of being a working mother, and almost 8 years of working directly with dozens of kids and parents on a weekly basis as the Portland Telugu school teacher and coordinator, never has anyone, let alone a male, ask me such a sincere and vital question, and I could not help but admire the man's love for his family!
We arrived at the departures terminal, and realized that we had already passed the Alaska Airlines gate where we were supposed to get off. Raaga and I offered to get down there and walk back to Alaska gate just a few meters away, but he dismissed the idea right away. When I apologized for not being more attentive and making him drive around the busy terminal again, he simply smiled and said he is glad it gave him a few extra minutes to continue our conversation!
He eventually drove us back to the terminal, stopped right at Alaska gate this time. He talked to the security to let him park the car at curb so he could walk me in, brought our luggage in, ensured that I got a wheel chair, before bidding us adieu.
When I think of him, I think of the most beautiful family, thriving in love, empathy, and unconditional support. When I think of him, I think to ask the question- "what can I do to make things a little bit better for those I care about?".
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