Good Deed for the Day

I just helped French tourists. I was putting my trash out for trash day, and there was an older couple standing at my corner with about 5 suitcases of various sizes. They asked me where Beacon Street was, and of course my first response was to panic (in my head, of course). You see, I inherited my mother's panic response whenever I am asked: directions, to introduce someone, or which is left and which is right. All rational thought or sense of direction goes out the window when I am in the aforementioned situations.

In any case, I was able to tell the tourists that Beacon Street was kind of far to drag all their bags, and they'd be better off taking a cab. I called a cab and waited with them. It was 9:00 pm, which was 3 am their time. Found out they were born in Paris (ooh!), but now lived in the South of France (ooh again!). The wife gave me a bag of candy from their area.

I told them I had just seen the new Michael Moore movie about healthcare, and that it seemed like France had great healthcare and I wanted to move there. The husband did all the talking. He said it was still free for the most part, but sometimes they had to pay if they could afford it. This was not their first time in America. They had been to America in 1976, for the bicentennial, woo hoo! They had also been to Cuba. World travelers, these two.

When the cab came, I bid them adieu. I wanted to tell them good luck, and the first phrase that came out of my mouth was, "Bon Marche!" ( the name of a restaurant I used to frequent). I asked the husband if that meant good luck, and he told me it meant cheap food. Oh well. The wife said I should say, "Bon voyage." Duh. I said "Bon voyage" and "Au revoir", and they were off. Hope they got to where they wanted okay.

I love helping foreigners who are lost, because I know the feeling of being somewhere unfamiliar and having someone be nice to you. It's a good feeling.