{"id":19409,"date":"2023-03-22T00:30:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T00:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=19409"},"modified":"2023-03-21T18:31:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T18:31:57","slug":"composure-compassion-congeniality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/22\/composure-compassion-congeniality\/","title":{"rendered":"Composure, Compassion, Congeniality"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY JOELLEN COLLINS<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
JoEllen Collins\u2014a longtime resident of the Wood River Valley\u2014is a teacher, writer, fabric artist, choir member and unabashedly proud grandma known as \u201cBibi Jo.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If we were at a large airport and noted a rather elderly lady with white hair, a carry-on, a sling and a cane, though not seriously incapacitated, most of us would ask if she needed help. During my recent trip to California, I may have been that woman who was flustered after waiting seven hours with delays, then cancellation, then a long line for rebooking. My previously scheduled two-hour flight to SUN instead developed into two days and three planes, but I am not angry at the airline. Traveling often entails some problems. I\u2019m glad we didn\u2019t take off in the middle of a severe windstorm.<\/p>\n

Indeed, during this time many people offered me chairs or a strong hand. One highlight surfaced after hours awaiting baggage at the claims department.\u00a0At one point, when a man a tad out of line tried to wiggle into my space, the gentleman already waiting in front of me turned around to me and said, \u201cPlease go before me.\u201d Kindness personified.<\/p>\n

Then there were the times I had spent while in San Francisco as a passenger with uniformly friendly and considerate Uber drivers from all over the world, of mixed races, genders, and ages. Most were surprisingly talkative when I asked, \u201cHow are you?\u201d and occasionally we had conversations. My last driver, who was named Vladimir (I smiled because I would easily remember that name), mentioned that his daughter was about to complete a master\u2019s degree at U.C. Davis, so I could congratulate him and his family on their success.\u00a0Another driver, a young woman from Portugal, drove back after she dropped me off, worried when she saw me waiting at my destination.<\/p>\n

Other goodwill evidence: My guest house hosts cooked their lavish breakfasts for me with lactose-free ingredients without any qualms or irritation. My grandson (young gentleman) took my hand wherever we walked because he didn\u2019t want me to fall. Before I could move back into my condo, friends let me stay with them for two nights and cooked fabulous meals. I picked up my dog from dogsitters who adored her as if she were their own. The day after returning, I was parked at St. Luke\u2019s parking area and struggling to get a large clump of ice off my car\u2019s hood, when a man nearby insisted on finishing the job.\u00a0And then I saw the best doctor ever, another reminder of our caring helpers. And then, as I was emptying a heavy suitcase from my car, a neighbor voluntarily helped me unload my baggage and other goodies and take them to my door.<\/p>\n

I am currently making serious decisions about the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

Whatever befalls, I will remember the kindness of strangers, and I am blessed with loving family here and in SF, lifelong friends to hug. I also know there will be good people around me, and I will make new friends.<\/p>\n

I hope always to keep MY sense of consideration for others \u2014 to pay it back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY JOELLEN COLLINS If we were at a large airport and noted a rather elderly lady with white hair, a carry-on, a sling and a cane, though not seriously incapacitated, most of us would ask if she needed help. During my recent trip to California, I may have been that woman who was flustered after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-on-lifes-terms"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19410,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19409\/revisions\/19410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}