A Reminder: People Are Good

Posted By Stephen Hoechst on Apr 2, 2020 | 3 comments

With all that’s going on right now, it’s pretty easy to feel down. Turn on the TV and everything is coronavirus related. People are dying, events are being canceled, stay in place orders are being issued. It’s all understandable, but the non-stop barrage of negative news can be really overwhelming and depressing.

With all the negative though, I wanted to share a positive experience that happened recently. This isn’t a travel related article, so if you’re looking for one of those, feel free to skip it. However, I’m going to try to share at least one positive story every week from now on. Hopefully things like this can bring a smile to your face during these challenging times.

An unexpected wake up call

Tuesday morning, I woke up to the buzzer for my building. It was 7am, so needless to say, I was still out of it. I knew we had an Amazon delivery coming, but they never deliver before 8am. It seemed early, but on the off chance it was, I buzzed them in.

A few seconds later, I heard a knock on the door. Weird, I thought. Usually Amazon knows the routine and just leaves packages outside without knocking. I replied in a half-asleep voice, “Could you please leave it outside?”

I went back to my room and a minute later my phone rang from an unknown number. “Hi, just wanted to let you know I’ve left a government food box for you outside your door.” A little confused, I thanked the man and hung up the phone. After getting off the phone, I went back and opened the door to find this waiting for me:

I couldn’t believe my eyes. This huge box was filled with items like canned goods, pasta, bread, milk, cereal, potatoes, apples, and more. It even had toilet paper!

Why me?

For those of you that don’t know, I have a weakened immune system. The NHS (the UK’s National Health Service) has classified me as “extremely vulnerable” and advised against leaving my flat for 12 weeks. Because of this, I can’t go to the grocery store. Delivery services exist here, but it’s been nearly impossible to get a slot due to the unprecedented demand.

When I saw the box, I was overcome with emotion. While we’ve been able to get some fresh produce and meat delivered, we’ve had so much trouble getting pantry items. To have them just show up outside our door unexpectedly brought us so much joy. I never thought I’d be crying over a box of food, but there I stood, tears in my eyes staring at this box of food.

I’ve spent the past few days feeling incredibly thankful. I’ve never thought of myself as “extremely vulnerable”. I’m lucky that I live a pretty normal day-to-day life. If you looked at me, you’d think I’m a perfectly healthy individual. However, this pandemic has been a harsh reminder that just because everything appears ok on the surface, doesn’t mean that everything is ok inside.

Thank you

With everything that’s going on, it can be hard to find any positivity. However, it’s acts like this that remind us about the good in people. Thank you to the kind, nameless stranger that decided to spend their Tuesday morning bringing us food instead of sleeping. I may never meet you, but I’ll never forget you.