Nice People Affect Me

Yesterday I got downtown early on purpose. I wanted to sit at the crappy chain coffeehouse (COSI) and drink overpriced coffee while smoking a cigarette and doing yet another re-reading of the section of the book I was going to teach. I was in the midst of accomplishing all of these goals when a woman stopped right in front of where I was sitting. She was looking down at the sidewalk with a fair amount of concentration. When I looked in the general direction she was looking, all I saw was a wad of old gum. But when I adjusted my position and looked again I saw what she saw: a small bird with a muted yellow belly. I looked up at the lady, she looked at me.

-It didn't move when I walked by. It's so little.
-Yeah. Geez.

The woman took another step towards the bird and the bird, once again, made no attempt at moving away. We were looking at it, wondering what people should do in this circumstance when an older man (late fifties, greying but long/shaggy hair, in suit) came out of COSI. Since he saw the woman and I both staring at something he, too, paused and stared.

-Oh this little guy needs a rest. said the man
-I'm afraid he's gonna get stepped on. said the woman
- said me

Then the man put his bag down and cupped his hands around the bird. The bird made a brief flying flutter and moved closer to the man's bag. The man, again, cupped his hands around the bird and this time had a good grip.

-He's just tired, migrating, he needs a rest.
-Oh.

The man then walked over to the Michigan Avenue curb and threw the bird into oncoming traffic. A bus was right there to smack into the little guy and he got his rest.

Okay, actually, that's not what happened. What happened was that the older gentleman, himself, went into oncoming traffic without injury and reached the middle of Michigan where there are planters of bushes, small trees and the like. Once there he gently put the bird into some bushes and came back.

When he went across the street the woman warned him not to leave his bag. Though it was right by the woman and my feet. The guy gave her a look that said 'seriously, this is going to take a second and I don't think either of you are going to steal my bag', and he was right.

Wasn't that nice? I mean, what are the odds of people stopping to worry about a bird in a city? Not all that high. Now, out of the people who would stop, how many would actually pick the bird up and move him somewhere safer? I'm saying even fewer people than would worry. And that was a nice start to my day...nevermind how it went after that.