Beth

A year ago or so, I was standing on line in the grocery store when I noticed a very beautiful women in front of me. She appeared to be in her 60's. She had white hair and blue eyes. She had wonderful lines in her face from years of smiling. I couldn't help myself. I walked right up to her and said, "excuse me, I don't usually do this sort of thing, but I must tell you that you are absolutely beautiful". She was both elated and gracious and introduced herself to me. Her name was Beth.

I had seen her aournd the neighborhood many times since and we chatted in passing. I hadn't seen her since 9/11 and wondered if she was ok.

Well, tonight I ran into her on South End Ave. I ran up to her and told her how happy I was to see her familiar face again. She hugged me. She told me that she is a chaplain and worked for the united nations. We talked about our experiences and our difficulties living here and the we spoke about peace.

I can't help but think about how we met. I'm so glad I had the courage to tell a complete stranger that she was radiating kindness and beauty...if I hadn't, I might never had had the wonderful conversation I just had tonight.