―Bill Murray
Just about a
year ago, a guy named Andy Singh in New York did a very kind thing for me.
One of my
closest friends from college is an attorney with a big corporation in New York.
She has a great job, a wonderful husband,
and very nice children. She is kind,
sensible, generous and intelligent. I
can't think of anything she needs. She
is one of those people who is content and doesn't want for more than she has,
which she will readily admit is plenty.
I am blessed
to travel every so often to New York, which I enjoy because I am able to visit
with her and her family. I nearly always
opt for her hospitality instead of a hotel.
Although our visits are never long enough, we enjoy them and staying at
her house is the closest thing to home away from home.
Last fall
during one of our telephone conversations, she shared that for her birthday,
she and her family had gone to her favorite restaurant, Cellini, and that she
had been looking forward to an especially delicious tiramisu on the menu. But her family got her a birthday cake, so
they went back to her apartment after the restaurant and had that instead.
"I
really wanted that tiramisu," she told me.
I could
hardly believe my luck -- something my friend wanted! So I sprang into action, figuring it would be
easy to arrange, especially in New York.
I called the
restaurant and asked if they delivered, but they didn't. As I was asking the woman who answered the
phone about a delivery service I might try, she transferred me to the very kind
Andy Singh, manager of the restaurant.
I explained
the situation to him. He said that my
friend's office was just a couple of blocks away and that he would be happy to
deliver it when he went to pick up his children from school. At that moment, I decided that Andy was a
pretty terrific guy. He was helping me
out and he picked up his children from school -- what a combo.
A couple of
hours later, my friend called. The first
thing I heard was laughter on the phone.
"I knew it was you, " she said, "as soon as I saw that it
was tiramisu."
We had a
great laugh and I told her about Andy, my New York kindness hero. What a goodwill ambassador, we decided. With his kindness, he spread good cheer up
and down the East Coast.
When I went
to New York a few weeks later, I went by Cellini to say hello and thank you
again to Andy. He was very nonplussed
about the whole thing. As with many
people who do kind acts, he probably doesn't think about his tiramisu kindness
very often. But my friend and I do, and
his kindness warms our hearts every time.
Fast forward
a year: Today is my friend's
birthday. I spoke to Andy again this
morning and my friend received a tiramisu delivery at her office. This time, I spoke to Andy for a few minutes
and he shared part of his story with me.
"We were
taught to be kind," he said.
"I don't expect anything from anyone. I give.
That's how I am."
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