Little Acts of Kindness

Litte things can really make a big impact in our lives.

Recently my friend Camille and I took an Amtrak train from Hollywood, Florida to Sebring, Florida to visit friends. When we got there, we noticed that a sign on the door of the station declared that it had been temporarily closed by the fire department. When we saw it, the sign did not make an impact us, as our friend was there waiting on us so we did not need a rest room, water or an air conditioned place in which to escape the close to  90 degree weather outside.

However, on our return journey two days later, when we arrived at the station and checked the status of our train, we were informed that it was running an hour late. (Smart people check these things before going to the airport, railway station etc. so I suppose we do not fall into the category of smart)!😖

When you have the boiling midday sun to contend with, an airconditioned waiting room and water are big deals!

A good idea

It was therefore a wonderfully welcome surprise when an African American man in a back truck, started to walk around asking if anyone wanted cold water or cold drinks. My friend Camille got two ice cold bottles of water and on asking how much it was, the smiling reply was "its free."

That's the reason for this title, for I personally had never experienced such an unsolicited act of generosity from a stranger since moving to the USA some six years ago.

At first, I thought he was an Amtrak employee who had come to relieve our misery as the train was late and the waiting room closed. However, it turned out that he was just a kind gentleman who saw many passengers waiting in the sun at the station and decided to help.

He left shortly afterwards, after ensuring that whoever needed a thirst quencher had been supplied.

Amtrak was a disappointment in general.  

I love travelling on trains but the one we took up to Sebring on the 28th of May, 2022,  had a cafeteria that didn't work and at least one ticket agent who didn't care whether the information he gave out was correct or not.

 I didn't know such workers existed, and unfortunately, he was the one I sought to get information about the cafeteria from!

Instructions at the dog bathing station

When we asked him if it was open yet, he said it had opened long ago!                                                                                                                                                                      It never opened during the entire, almost three-hour trip, because of 'technical problems' according to an announcement.                                                                                                                                                                  Unfortunately, we again encountered that lousy ticket agent on the return trip. For we saw his at the door of the train going north which arrived before ours, going south, was due. When we asked how long our train was delayed for, instead of saying he didn't know or checking with his headquarters, he told us 'it was running about "ten minutes late." 

When we checked the Amtrak one eighthundred number, we were informed it was delayed for over an hour!

Amtrak really needs to hire ticket agents on their trains who care about the type of information they give to passengers or others who are more like the agent in their office in Hollywood who was so pleasant and helpful.

Anyway, since the scenery in Florida is so boring, I don't see myself ever again taking their train to go anywhere else in the state.

Despite Amtrak, we had a great time in Sebring with friends.

I even got the opportunity to revisit Lake Placid, aka the town of murals. It is so called, as all available walls in the tiny town seem to have great murals painted on them.

I had first visited the town a few years ago to attend the annual Caladium festival with my Meet Up hiking group. Joan, my views: Caladiums galore (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

This time I went there with my hosts to bathe their dogs! 

Thats right, for at a farm store, there is a very convenient dog bathing facility which I found very unique.

I had never seen such a public facility in any other pet-loving town and was so impressed with it that I declared that if I were younger, I would set up some 24 hour stand alone stations like that in other cities!😏

So despite the lousy Amtrak experience , we all had a wonderful Memorial Weekend in Sebring in 2022.

I will admit though that although the train for the return trip was an hour late and the waiting room was closed so we had to sit outside, that trip was far more pleasant.

 To begin with, the cafeteria worked and there were agents calling out the upcoming stations and the time it would take to get to each, on this train. 

Nothing like that was done on the trip from Hollywood to Sebring. 

Amtrak Florida needs to not only overall its service, train its staff properly and have its waiting rooms available, but they also need to upgrade their stock. For I have travelled by train in other states, Canada and Europe and this was really the oldest, slowest and creakiest train that I have ever traveled on!

Thank heavens it couldn't spoil the weekend with friends for us though.

Finding Marlis

I suppose you suspect that I got the title from finding Nemo and the answer is yes, but that is where  the similarity ends.

Marlis is a wonderful Swiss woman who along with her husband spent many years as a volunteer family hosting teenagers registered in an international exchange program from countries as far removed as the United States to Zimbabwe  Thailand, south Africa and of course Jamaica

Although we had only visited Switzerland once and very briefly too, my young daughter had been overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and when she got an opportunity to go on the one year high school exchange program ( a few decades ago) Switzerland was her first choice. That was how she met Marlis who became more than a mother to her, not only in looking after her welfare for a year, but teaching her great things including (horror of horrors) jumping out of a plane in the sport of sky diving.

Among Marlis' other  interesting attributes too was her hobby, training dogs to rescue injured people and take them to safety.

For decades therefore I have heard about Marlis and what a wonderful person she is, so when we recently decided do go to Europe for a vacation,  visiting Marlis became a must and it turned out to be a great decision.

To get to Solothurn  from Venice  we took a train to Milan, then Milan to Zurich then another to the final destination.

Actually, I have never traveled by train in Europe before and believe me it is a wonderful experience which I hope to repeat time and time again, due to the sheer efficiency of the integrated system. Also, the landscape was absolutely breathtaking in parts, what with the numerous well kept vineyards and mountains from Venice to Milan.

 However, I now wonder if it is possible to travel through Italy without some mafia influenced person trying to take advantage of you.

We had an interesting experience as we were about to board the train from Milan to Zurich. As I tried to put my quite bag on the train, a huge man (built like  a bouncer) assisted me to lift it. I was a bit impressed by his "gentlemanlyness" but became overwhelmed when not only did he lift it in but took it down the corridor and stowed it in the luggage section. Then although he did not have on uniform, he did the same for the other  two members of my party! It was only when he finished that the real motive became clear, for m,y son in law, thinking he was being generous, offered him a 3 euro tip, only to be menacingly told, he wanted 5!
Quite a shakedown.

Anyway, once started the journey to Zurich the incident was quickly forgotten as we started travelling through a series of pristine valleys that were absolutely to die for. It was as if we were forever accompanied by huge, calm blue lakes dotted with the sails of fun lovers on both sides of the rail and overpowered by the unending range of  variegated mountains of different  shades and sizes.  It left me concluding that it is probably the sheer beauty of the Swiss landscape plus of course the famous Alps, which accounts for that country being  such a  popular tourism mecca, for from my perspective, it couldn't be the weather!

At Solothurn there was Marlis patiently waiting to take us to her small colorful hamlet (population 300) nearby where tastefully laid out agricultural fields with potatoes, sunflowers and vegetables beside the green pine treed mini forests, gives the place the look of a photograph that had been that had been photoshopped!

A homely gem

Not only is the area beautiful, but it is very central, only half hour from Bern (capital of Switzerland) and one could even see Matterhorn (in the Alps) clearly from there.

The hotel that she booked us at too was a homely 138 year old gem which had once been a farmhouse. The only possible drawback there was that it was right across the road  from a church whose bell tolled from 8.45 to 9 am on a Sunday morning but then I have very little sympathy for people who like to lie around in bed!

The church across the street

What was interesting though is that although the bell tolled forever, the church remained closed (the Sunday we were there) for the Swiss, we were told, tend not be very religious people,which is probably why they are so peaceful, giving the country such a low crime rate! (Incidentally, the largest church in Switzerland was built in 1893 and is still  in operation in Bern but more as a tourist attraction than a place of worship.)  It is interesting  also that although Switzerland has had both internal and external peace for years, they take no chances and since 1990 it was legislated that every house built must have a bunker!

Although the weather had deteriorated quite a bit since we got there, the next day Marlis and her friend Rene were early to take us on a tour of Bern (established in the 1700's) which is not only absolutely beautiful with its historic buildings but it is modern and orderly as well, to the point that from the main road, you can tell if the underground parking lots have space without having to bother to enter, as the flashing board outside has all the information you could need. (Boy don't they think of everything?)

Yup, Marlis turned out to be everything my daughter had been telling me for years thus meeting her brought a wonderful European tour to a magnificent and memorable end.

Also, after visiting  Solothurn, Bern and Zurich this trip,  I am reminded that Switzerland is still a charming place to visit,  although socially, women seem to be still under the thumb of the men, for can you believe that up to 2014 there is still no law to guarantee equal pay for men and women who do the same job?. But then, I said the place is charming, not paradise on earth!
                       

                                           Memories.... A pictorial memorial of old Bern

The steepest railway line in Europe is in Bern

Old Bern with is cobble stoned streets

View of a section of Bern from the parliament building

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line  broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Ps. Jasper died in September 2014. Walk good my friend. It was great knowing you.