Dinner and a show!

My wife and I went to see the touring version of the Broadway show Come From Away. We had a wonderful time, but when the show was over, the group of people walking in front of us walked four or five to a row, taking up much of the sidewalk, and were heavily involved in their own, loud conversation. One woman, not looking where she was going, ran into me, another into my wife.

The irony of the situation was not lost on me.

The whole gist of the show is based on the events in the Newfoundland town of Gander following the September 11 attacks, when 39 planes, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were ordered to land at Gander International Airport and how the towns people and passengers came together and looked out after each other. 

As we walked the rest of the way to our car, it hit me that we have an epidemic in our country. People have no tact or self awareness around others. We live in an “I’ll tell you what I think, but I couldn’t care less about listening or hearing from you” culture. People lack basic skills and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.

You see it on social media. You see it when it comes to politics and matters that should interest us all. Oh, I sound like an old guy looking out his window, yelling to the noisy kids on the street to stay off my damn lawn, but it really does feel like a problem that’s getting worse, not better. And it’s not just coming out of the theater.

I was pulling out of a busy parking lot this past weekend and, of course, the line of other drivers didn’t want to let us out, forget about the older couple we noticed trying to back out. The couple kept trying to inch their way out, but car after car passed them before I slowed to a halt and waved them on.

Oh, I’m no hero. I just did what anyone should’ve done.

And, yes, I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer — the world is not coming to an end, the sun will come out tomorrow — I just think we need the occasional reminder to search for our better selves.

Author unknown, versions of this poem have been attributed over the years to Charles R. Swindoll, Charles Osgood, Zig Ziglar, and others.

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63 thoughts on “Dinner and a show!”

  2. I’m so glad you got to see Come From Away, Brian. It’s not only an enjoyable show, it exemplifies the way Newfoundlanders treat strangers and each other. Their closest neighbours, us Maritimers, aren’t far behind in friendliness. That’s why I love it so. 😊💕

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    1. Oh, it was an awesome show Jane. I’m really glad we went. I had read about the show and Gander Airport previously, but it was neat to see it played out in front of us. Loved it and it’s great to see New Foundland get the credit it deserves!

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  3. Come From Away is such a fabulous show! I loved it and felt a lot of pride in my country, needless to say.

    You are so right, Brian. The anonymity of the internets has given people permission to be so damn rude and it has spilled out into the real world. It’s annoying as hell.

    And I did a similar move just yesterday! I called it the pick and roll ;-) I think I will blog about it 🙂

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  5. The idea of entitlement has grown exponentially within our society. I have always practiced acts of random kindness and will continue to do so. I probably won’t change the world, but knowing that I did something nice for one person still makes me happy. I may have to live in the world that entitlement has created, but they don’t have to participate.

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  8. YES, YES, YES!!! People do lack basic skills of sheer sensitivity indeed Brian. “People have no tact or self awareness around others. We live in an “I’ll tell you what I think, but I couldn’t care less about listening or hearing from you” culture. ” Man my friend, did you NAIL this! 🔨🔨🔨 Everybody-Somebody-Anybody-Nobody…PRICELESS!!! 🥰🙏🏼🤗

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    1. You’ll appreciate this Kym. I had the piece finished and planned last night. I went to bed and woke up like 3 or 4 and decided that I didn’t like the Headline and images that I had used. The images were of Tic-tac-toe and played off the theme of tact. So in the middle of the night I was selecting new images, making a headline change, adding more text. Ugh. Shoot me now.

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      1. 😜😂😝 Brian my friend, I see you woke up at that magical time in the morning! ⏰ I can’t say how weird that was, because I think I was doing the very same thing at the same time on that same morning! So yes, I certainly can appreciate your editing changes! You are tooo funny, and I love it!!! 🤣💖😍

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      2. But here’s my question . . . why couldn’t this flash of desire to change my post come at 6 or 7 p.m. I would have been “bright-eyed and bushy tailed.” Instead, I had one eye open, one eye closed and was thick-thumbing my way on my phone to change the text. For every five words I typed, I was going back and deleting three mistakes. And in the end, I’m not sure I really made it any better, but I helped the needling in the back of my head. Good grief!

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    1. You have my permission Vicki to market it, make it the next Nike logo, and make millions of dollars. Ha, ha, I don’t think it’s all that great, I was trying to find a way to smoothly end the piece. It’s the best line I could come up with. Ha, ha.

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    1. Why would anyone flip you off Cindy? Ha, ha. I read that and had to read it again. People are crazy. C’mon that’s just silly. And the solicitations, don’t get me started on that one. The Bible and Politics? When I was young, I learned in my church and from my Christian parents, to help the needy, to love your neighbor, and to turn the other cheek. If I don’t buy one of Trump’s Bibles does that mean I’m a bad Christian and going to Hell. Ha, ha, something tells me no! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Great message, Brian. I do think a lot of our country-mates have become more self-centered and less focused on or interested in being tolerant of others. In my little slice of the world, I always try to interact positively with others, and certainly make it a point to always acknowledge when someone shows caring for me. We do what we can do.🙂

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  14. I think I’ve shared with you many times how I feel social media has made us all less social – and I’m guilty of this as well.

    There surely has to be a better and kinder and gentler way forward.

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  16. You hit the nail on the head. People think they come first. If everyone would think other people come first, the effect (and results) would be monumental.

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  20. It’s quite alarming how many people lack self awareness or simply just don’t care about anyone else. I think it’s getting worse too. There’s not as much of a sense of community anymore. But I’m not quite sure how we fix that as a society.

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    1. For some reason lately, the ones without any. self awareness have really annoyed me. It’s just a total lack of care for anyone else. Thanks for letting me rant. There’s lot of kind and great people too. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. Thank you.

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  21. Brian, you literally extracted my thoughts and wrote them in this post! I’m not kidding! I feel this way every day no matter where I happen to be, and it’s sad and frustrating. Some people are so self-absorbed that only their agenda matters. While driving, I’ve almost been run into cones because other cars won’t let me merge, even though the signs are posted early on for all drivers to see. I have a personalized license plate now though, so I have to watch how I react. LOL I don’t know if things will change because I think the convenience and immediacy of technology attributes to people wanting what they what now! I hope I’m wrong! Great post!

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    1. I know there are just mean people out there, but the self absorption is what bothers me. I feel like sometimes if you step back you can see where the problems begin. One person thinks they’re “more special” than anyone else and the next thing you know, trouble happens. But, then I read things like your poem today and I’m reminded that one droplet makes all the difference in the world. Thanks for letting me vent. Appreciate knowing that I’m not the only one, that I’m really not crazy. Ha, ha. Thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Wow, what a story! It’s funny how a show about coming together ended with that kind of sidewalk scramble. Sounds like we could all use a reminder to be a bit more aware of each other. Thanks for sharing this—really makes you think!

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  23. I don’t know how I missed this post, but glad I found it today. Yes, you are correct. I think civility is becoming a lost art. I remember volunteering at the pool, and at our town’s Village Fest, and random people would yell at me. One swim meet, we had a wind storm and the score board blew down. People from other teams yelled at me on how we could run such an awful meet!

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    1. Yelling at a volunteer has the be the lowest form of low. Really. Especially the wind storm story. How are you supposed to factor that into swim meet planning? That’s crazy, how about a little bit of grace and compassion. Ugh. I’m just grateful that for every frustrating story, there’s great people who help me see the good in people. Thanks for sharing EA, I’m hopeful the swimmers appreciated your efforts.

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      1. Putting on swim meets, when you’re hosting a thousand swimmers and their families was a monumental task. It took every parent on our small team working long hours for four days. I agree, where was the grace and compassion?

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      3. We had amazing parents to pull it off. Our snack bar was run by Chef Francois from the Ritz Carlton. In addition to the snack bar for families with burritos, hamburgers, etc. he prepared special meals for coaches of lobster and prime rib. We had several swimmers and a dad who dived for the lobster. The coaches loved bringing their swimmers to Palm Springs!

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