Wednesday 6 March 2013

Help

A man offers to help a woman carry her buggy down the steps from the platform. He is gone long enough that he probably helped her all the way to street level (Peckham Rye has no lift or escalator access and is a high rail track). He returns to the platform slightly breathlessly from bounding up the stairs. The first thing he encounters are two cute young women dragging three huge suitcases between them. They are looking for a lift. He catches my eye, because we both were watching them. We laugh. He sees his train approaching and then chivalrously offers to carry one of the cases down one flight because his train is coming. You're a star one of the girls says at the bottom. He bounds back up in time to board the train. Breathless again. I'm still smiling. Gentlemen exist - always ready to help damsels in distress, or at least discomfort.

3 comments:

la peregrina said...

Another lovely story. :)

Z said...

I couldn't agree more - the number of times a kind man or woman has helped me with a heavy suitcase or, when I used a walking stick, given me their seat, when travelling in London has been enough to reinforce my trust in the kindness of strangers.

Ann Marie McGrath said...

Yes, gentleman do exist still. They are rare though. Don't men know the competitive advantage they would have over other men if they opened the door for a lady every once in a while? ;) Nice post!