Rio 'Grande'

The theatre was nearly full. We had been warned, when buying tickets, that we might not all get to sit together. So Joe, Ruby and I headed to the theatre and Mike, Marissa and Sadie were to get the popcorn and goodies. When we got in, the disabled spot was free for my chair and the 'companion seating' seat next to it had surprisingly been left empty. There was a family of four right next to it, two adults, two kids. Ruby sat in the vacant seat and Joe stood looking for a place for the others when they arrived.

I sensed, more than noticed, movement on the row. A small voice said, 'We've moved over one seat so that you can all sit down. I looked and saw a little girl, maybe a year older than Ruby, speaking to us as the rest of the family was busy moving things around to make the seat free. I immediately began to say, 'No, it's OK, really.' But the words stopped before they were spoken. I saw a proud dad looking at his little girl. He'd clearly given her the duty of speaking to us, telling us of the gift of the seat. I clearly saw the desire in the little girl's eyes to do something nice for someone else.

I had a job here.

It was an easy one.

I rolled over a little and bent down to speak to her, 'That's a very, very, nice thing to do. Now we can all sit together.'

She was a little embarassed but she said, 'You're welcome.'

Ruby, who watches adlut interactions like a hawk, chimed in saying, 'Thank you from me too.'

The other child grinned. I looked up at her parents and the whole family was pleased. They looked like good and caring people. For me, this was a wonderful act of great parenting. It's nice to see kids being taught the art of kindness and selflessness. It took work to move four people over one seat, true, but it took kindness and compassion to notice that there was something that needed to be done and that they had the capacity and the means to do it.

When the others arrived, they all sat a few rows away. Ruby stayed with us and we three watched to movie together. After the credits rolled the family next to us rose to leave. The little girl stopped on her way and asked, 'Did you like the movie?'

Ruby answered quickly, 'Yes!'

I added, 'I liked it most because you did something nice for us.'

She then took the hand offered to her and went off into the world. And I think that world is going to be better off because she's in it.