Nice People. They Exist.
If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to step away from the sarcasm for a split second and give a hearty “thank you for occasionally being awesome” to the human race in general, and an even heartier “thank you for the gift card” to Eric in particular.
I am not, despite appearances, on a first name basis with Eric. I don’t even know who Eric is. What I do know is that I woke up this morning to find that Eric – no last name – had sent me a little something for one of my tutorials. I almost deleted the email – I thought it was spam. And what’s even nicer is that Eric did all this without providing a return email address, meaning he didn’t even really expect me to respond with a note. It makes me want to run around accosting homeless people with plates of food.
It’s not just Eric, either. I used to country-hop a lot, and I remember being baffled when my change-challenged friends would moan about the terrors of packing up your life and unpacking it again elsewhere. It’s so easy – just buy a ticket and follow the signs. Hell, if you’re on the road and you stop paying attention for a couple of hours, chances are good that you’ll snap out of it in the midst of a complimentary continental breakfast.
This is partially due to a fairly standardized transportation system and the well-worn grooves of the several million rolling suitcase wheels that have gone before. But it’s also made possible by an entire world of nice people. Where my caravan would once have had to keep a vigilant eye on the bandit-ridden horizon, now I can enjoy a gin tonic and happily drool on myself for 15 blissful hours without the appearance of so much as a single saber.
So say we’re morally corrupted as a culture if it makes you feel fashionable. Tell yourself we’re circling the drain of courtesy. But I have an Amazon gift card here that says otherwise. Thanks, Eric.
We now return to our regularly scheduled pessimism.
