A Pleasant Experience with a little Ego Boost Added

Hey everybody. Hope your weekend was wonderfully blessed.  As for me, mine was pretty nice. Busy, but nice. I started my day with karate practice and then a basketball game – which we lost, but no worries, there’s always the next game. And no, I ain’t the one taking karate or playing basketball, my grandson is.

After the game I went home fully intending to get my bedroom in some semblance of organized chaos. Well, it remains in total chaos because I found myself lying in the middle of my bed, organization be damned.  Earlier I had received a phone call from a friend asking if I was really too tired to attend the jazz session at TBAAL that we had already paid for. “I was just thinking that we really need to do something for ourselves for a change.” she said convincingly. So, I agreed that maybe we should go and I would be ready around 6:30. Yeah right.

As a general rule I am at the latest, on time and seldom late. But for some reason I was drag- assing around and didn’t actually leave my driveway until a quarter to seven.  Only then to be told that I was being picked up which is a “hooray!” moment for me since I really don’t like driving.

The chariot arrived, we went to dinner and then headed on over to TBAAL to hear the masterfully, talented Shaun Martin and his band. Wonderful!  Fantastic! And, so very entertaining. If you have not heard this brother then you are missing out on a soulful, jazz experience.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. My title suggests that there was an ego boosting encounter involved. And there was.

So, we park and walk over to pay the parking lot meter - technology is truly replacing people.  Observant woman that I am I notice this huge SUV pull into the lot and park. I jokingly ask my friend why people buy such big “A” vehicles and we both laughed since I own the same brand of vehicle that I was talking about.  

I notice this brother walking toward us and since we had just had dinner complete with grilled onions, I asked if he possibly had gum or mints. He smiled and said he did in his car and would fulfill my request as soon as he paid for his parking. So, I waited and watched as he walked to the very vehicle I had joked about only moments before. When he returned I asked for two pieces of gum and told him I was just disparaging his vehicle. Then I told him that I owned the same type of truck. We both laughed and began talking as we walked toward our destination – he was on his way to enjoy jazz great Shaun Martin as well.

Long story short, this guy with the beautiful Nissan Armada, and the gum, was such a gentleman. I mean someone, somewhere, has given this brother the tools to make a woman swoon – this woman anyway. Look, as I stepped from the curb he reaches for my elbow to assist me. Then he reaches back and does the same for my friend. As we walk and talk about the wonderful vehicles that we both own, he appears to really be into the conversation. And he does not forget to assist us again as we step up onto the sidewalk.

We arrive at our destination and he expresses his gratitude for our chance meeting. We exchange names and part company. Now while I did see him again during the night, we did not speak again. But his overall genial attitude was a breath of fresh air. He did not seem pretentious or a bow-wow contender. He just seemed to be a man who appreciated and respected women.

When is the last time you had an encounter with such a genteel man? I know for me it has been a while. On the average, I encounter the suave type brother regularly. I’m not sure if it is because I am older or full-figured that I usually feel invisible to these guys. Of course I get my share of attention from men, but sometimes the supposedly cultured brother is insensitive and so full of himself that if you aren’t exactly eye candy you can fall off the curb and he won’t look back.

Two things happened that night: first, the jazz set with Shaun Martin was wonderful; and second, my ego got an unexpected boost. Again I ask: “When was your last encounter with such a gentleman?” Please share….Sonia