Mrs. Teabody Reflects on a Trip and Kindness

I am wide awake looking at the moon and stars in the June sky through a window while I am lying in a comfortable bed inside a rental house in Penzance, Cornwall, England. I can count on one hand the times in my life I have been able to see a starry starry sky as sleep finds me. It's a doozy. I want to tell you about our first day here--Saturday-- before I lose the feeling. 

Saturday morning started in tension: My three companions pictured above at Saint Michael's Mound had to make the 7:00 A.M. train from London  Paddington-- all four of us with all our luggage -- and we also had to meet up with two other friends inside huge Paddington Station because I had their tickets. All that went off without a hitch and the six of us managed to get on the train  in our assigned seats, our many pieces of luggage stowed on the main rack at the end of the car.  So far so good.  Great Western Rail have a scheme on weekends where you can upgrade to first class for twenty-five pounds. Ours was a long journey. We had gotten the cheapest advance tickets and we all felt the upgrade was something we wanted to do: larger, more comfortable seats, huge windows, free snacks. We left our bags on the rack and walked forward. SIX cars.

At the conclusion of our long but comfortable journey, everyone decided the upgrade had been a good idea. As we dragged our luggage the length of the Penzance station, we were tired but we had ticked off several of the necessary steps. Good on us. So far. Getting two taxis  for six people with luggage to our rental which was located in an obscure Penzance-adjacent village was a bit of a challenge as without very specific directions, even the most experienced taxi drivers struggled with the location. Nonetheless, all six were delivered to our rental, luggage and all.

Once everyone was ensconced in their respective rooms and unpacked, we knew it was time for the BIG SHOP: the essential items needed for the week. We had wisely made a master list . Our computers all told us the a large Tesco was less than a mile away. We knew that we could walk the distance but we didn't know any way to bring home the groceries and ourselves without hiring a taxi. We would sort that at the Tesco. Four people, four carts, four shopping assignments. Meet at the front of the store in fifteen minutes with the group stuff as well as the special individual requests. The game was afoot.

As British grocery stores are not organized in the same manner as American grocery stores, the BIG SHOP took longer than we expected, but soon everything was in my cart and I was checking out. Soon I was engaged with the two gentlemen at the checkout.

" I'm throwing myself on your mercy, " I said. "Here are all the carrier bags from our house. We need to fit all this stuff into these bags so we can fit all of this stuff  and four people into a taxi. Now I ask you: is this possible?"

Now initially they both looked at me as though I'd just landed from another planet but quicker than you can say fish and chips, they got into the spirit of the problem and we all started laughing as we bagged. The younger man -- I now noticed he was dressed in Scouts attire--then related that he'd been to Pennsylvania once. In Punxsutawney. Blimey! Was it possible? We chatted on about whether or not Punxsutawney was a representative PA town  as toilet paper and paper towels and Chardonnay went into bags. Chat took center court as cheese and bread and heavy cream got plopped into carrier bags. By the time we'd finished  we were on a first name basis. Everyone was smiling and the BIG SHOP was packed for efficient transport.

"Now I'll need to get a taxi," I said.

"No problem," said the Scoutmaster. "Do you see where the water display is?"he said, pointing.

I managed to see it.

"There's a Free phone there. Just pick it up and it'll take you straight through to a cab."
"Awesome. Thanks," we said.

Scouts were at all the checkouts I now noticed. We dropped some cash in the collection canisters and pushed the BIG SHOP toward the free phone. Which didn't work. Not the first, third, or fifth try.  Two of our gang pushed their carts outside. Mr. Teabody kept trying the free phone to no avail.

Suddenly, out of nowhere our friendly Scoutmaster from the checkout appeared. " Got that sorted?" he inquired.

"We can't get anyone to answer, " I replied.

"Follow me," he said. "I'm Jeremy, " he reminded us.
In the next few minutes, we met his partner, Beth. Without fanfare Jeremy borrowed her car and started stacking our BIG SHOP in the boot. Four Americans climbed into a car driven by a  British man we'd known for less than fifteen minutes. Ten  minutes later we were at our rental house unloading the BIG Shop, hearts filled with gratitude and awe over the kindness of the first person we had met in Penzance.

He refused our offer of Thank You money. He refused our offer of petrol money. He accepted a hug and said, the words that are now blazoned on my heart forever:
"We're supposed to be kind to one another. That's what we're here for." 

Sharp intake of breath. Tears in eyes.

We watched Jeremy back  Beth's car down our ridiculously narrow driveway with  us waving him off still not quite believing what had just happened.

"Who was that masked man?" my husband asked invoking the famous line from that old times television show, we'd grown up watching.

I laughed lightly through tears and felt a big chunk of cynicism fall off my heart.
 " Yes, Mr. Teabody, that  very well may have been the Lone Ranger -- Brit style."

And I'm pretty sure I heard a voice  say from inside the car as it drove out of sight: "Heigh-HO, Silver. Away."

But that might have been our joy talking. You decide.