Kenny

I was just writing in my Gratitude Journal- I usually do this at the end of everyday, but I wasn’t quite at the capacity last night. I suppose I could have done it at 3am, but I imagine there would have been some incoherency.

I started my gratitude journal a few months ago. I write down 10 things that I am grateful for each day. 

As I was writing how grateful I was about last night’s fundraiser, so many memories were coming to mind. Mike Hutton’s excitement over winning the dartboard and jumping on the table yelling, obviously came first. That was great emotion to have in the night.

But also the conversations I had with people: Old friends encouraging me to keep up everything that I am doing. People I hadn’t seen in forever telling me that my story of Fidel & Saul gave them the chills. A stranger, named Kenny, who bought 2 raffle tickets, didn’t win, but came up to me afterwards and hugged me and said- “thank you for what you are doing, I know it is not easy.” Then he left the room.

I went to find him after we cleaned up the raffle, to give him a t-shirt for participating. He was standing alone by the wall observing the bar scene. I asked if he had any friends there who would like a t-shirt as well. It was then that his beautiful story unraveled and I found my night ending in a very unexpected way.

Kenny’s house was destroyed in the Sandy hurricane in Union City, New Jersey. When him and his wife heard about the storm, they packed up their belongings for 3 days and left with their son to head to a hotel.

He showed me the photos on his iPhone.

He said, “we lost everything. And when I say we lost everything, you don’t even know. All our photos…”

Sill-i-ly, I asked if he wanted more t-shirts…

He smiled at me.

“So many people offer us stuff, but we have no where to put it. We are living in a hotel room. And, you know, it doesn’t matter. Our house will be re-built.”

What he cares about are the memories, the community, the school his son went to with his friends…

But he smiles. He knows it will be okay, he tells me. He cares more for those who don’t have insurance to re-build their homes- For those with less hope.

His attitude was an inspiration to me.

He stood there watching the bar scene, because he does not get that opportunity to get out that much. He does not live in his hometown anymore where he can go to relax with the friends he used to in the local placed they used to go.

I guess if we never had the fundraiser, I never would have met Kenny. I love how following your heart puts you in situations where you can share great stories- great memories- great people- inspiration.

I took a cab home alone at the end of the night.

I was standing on the street corner at 3am and my feet were aching from my heels. So many people were waiting for a cab but I hailed one down and he flashed his lights at me in recognition (usually they just slam on the brakes along side you and splash you with dirty nyc water). None of the people fought me for the cab…

The driver asked how I was doing. I explained about the fundraiser… He listened… He asked questions…He was from India…

When he pulled up at my sister’s apartment he told me it was $12. I gave him a $20, got change, and then gave $2 tip.  He paused looking at the money for a minute, and I felt a little ashamed…maybe he deserved more…?

Then, he handed me back a $5 bill. He said, “this is my contribution to Fidel & Saul’s trip.”