Tenacious Crossword

There is a valley character who I call "Crossword". He always has a stack of crossword puzzles that he's working on all over town: in Hank's deli, at the laundromat, at the garage, in the library, at the bakery...

While waiting for my snow tires to be put on, I walked over to the bakery and took up at my customary table by a window with full view of the sidewalk and people coming and going. Crossword was at the table next to me, pencil poised in mid air over a stack of puzzles freshly torn out from various newspapers. As I opened up my laptop, he leaned over conspiratorially,

Crossword: I was over at Hank's and I asked a woman for a hug.

Me: How'd that work out for ya?

Crossword: She said, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!" Hahahaha! (slapping his knee)

Me: Did you expect a different outcome?

Crossword: Are you kidding me? Hahahahaha!!

He continued to chuckle to himself, his head and shoulders shaking in laughter as he filled in the little squares of the puzzle. After a time, he slowly got up, put on his coat, and shuffled with great effort out the door. Still smiling and waving as he left. I watched through the window to make sure he got where he was going.

Most people passed him quickly, not giving the old bent man a second look as he shuffled along, carefully concentrating on each step. He paused at the curb, and reached out a hand - curled and gnarled by years of work - and placed it on a hood of a car to keep his balance as he shuffled a few steps forward.

A young man took long quick strides for the bakery, passing Crossword. The young man put his hand on the bakery door, pushed it open, and then stopped short as a sudden look of awareness and concern furrowed his brow. He stepped away from the door and turned around, his back to me, and the door now shut. He greeted Crossword, generic words passed between two strangers and Crossword waved him off with one hand, his other sliding along the cold metal of a car hood.

The young man pulled his phone out of his pocket, and frowned down at it, standing on the sidewalk - bakery seemingly forgotten. As Crossword made slow progress, the young man kept discreetly glancing up from his phone. He took small steps that to passerby would look like a distracted movement, but he was keeping a mindful distance between himself and Crossword. As soon as Crossword reached his destination and was inside the next shop, the young man smiled, pocketed his phone, and rushed into the bakery - where he ordered lunch to go and rushed back out.

In a world of name-calling and frustration with everyone around us, it was a gift to see someone stop and carefully consider the level of assistance someone might need. From my vantage point, Crossword turned down help because he wants to stay mobile and independent as long as he has the ability to do so. The young man respectfully gave him space and a sense of privacy - while ensuring Crossword met his goal. Let's all be both of them - tenacious when we are older, and kind when we are younger.