Who Sent What

Speaking of words and language ...

We were on our way to the passport office to get the paperwork processed. To hurry up and get there after work, we decided to take the subway. Inside, at the elevator to take us down to the mall, from which there is Subway access, we let an elderly woman with a walker go on first as she indicated that she was in a bit of a hurry. Given that I'm quick in my scooter and Joe was hurrying alongside, we passed her in the mall and found ourselves then holding the door to the Subway open for her.

She returned the favour inside and, thus, I ended up heading own the ramp in front of her. It's a long, narrow, ramp with a sharp bend in the middle and I never go down it quickly. So she was right behind me on the way down. I caught her eye as I made the turn to go down the second half. She said, "These ramps are such a Godsend aren't they?" I nodded.

We met again on the subway platform and she made her way over to me, "You know," she said, launching in, "my daughter tells me to tell people that she was borne into her wheelchair. She gets upset at me when I say things like 'the ramp is a Godsend'. She says that people who walk don't go thinking that God sent them stairs. It's just a matter of speech for me, I hope you didn't mind." I said that I didn't mind at all but her daughter had a point.

She said, "Yes, well, what my daughter doesn't understand is that I think that we should be grateful for ramps and they should be grateful for stairs, but that's a discussion we've had too many times." She laughed at the memory and the shared story.

We heard the subway coming and she said that she'd better start on immediately if she expected to get on.

"Godspeed," I said.

I could hear her laugh right over the sound of the train.