I was sitting on the train, self-absorbed and brooding over my relationships (or lack thereof) and life in general, when the doors opened and two gentlemen entered the train car. One had a long silver walking stick that darted back and forth; the other was guided forward by a chocolate Labrador wearing a harness. The men were blind.
"Come on," one said to the other as they clasped onto each other's arms and stood within the doors.
Their faces were weathered and aged, and their eyes were lightly closed. The one with the dog sat down in front of me. I looked at the dog and the bright sign around his body that read "Please don't pet me. I'm working." The dog sat down and blinked as he glanced around the room. The other man was about to sit down next to his friend when he felt with his hands the empty space and realized there was no chair there.
He faced the end of the car and asked loudly, "What stop is next?" A couple people responded in unison. When he heard the response, he said to his friend, "Ah, we're going the wrong way. Oh well.. time to get off and switch."
"All right," the other replied good-naturedly. And at the next stop they got off.
A wrong stop, having to switch trains. It seemed like another minor inconvenience, like finding a piece of lint on your jacket. I suddenly felt embarrassed for myself. It wasn't the circumstances that made me so bitter and them so content, it was the attitude. And I realized then I needed to adjust mine.
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