Amongst the hardship, suffering, inconvenience and mental pandemonium of the COVID-19 virus, there are still good things happening as well.
My wife and I have the custom of buying a fresh cinnamon bun on Saturday mornings and sharing that over our morning coffee. So I was standing in line at Cobs a couple of weeks ago to purchase our weekly treat and while waiting for the customer ahead of me, I started reading the new rules of behavior including the fact that cash would no longer be accepted. By this time the attendant asked me what I would like, so I said that I would like a cinnamon bun but that it looked that I would be out of luck because I only carried good old cash on me.
A lady in the next row overheard what I said and told the attendant that she would pay for the cinnamon bun when her turn came.
That was a cinnamon bun that showed us how vulnerable we can be in a moment’s time, how we better learn to savour simple treats like a cinnamon bun, but above all how a human spirit as embodied in this lady transcends this all and depicts how the upcoming Easter is a victory over our ‘collective cinnamon buns’ we could not pay for and which we still get to enjoy if we accept the gift.
Then, being at my favorite German car repair service here in town, I heard the story of 2 young men who sacrificed their jobs to the benefit of other employees who had larger families to care for.
Churchill has once said to never ever, ever give up. In moments like these it is a privilege to be alive. Thank you to the above individuals for their kindness and sacrifice, but also to all those quiet people who keep our city going in challenging times like these.
Gert Vande Bunte
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