Just pretty darned nice…

“He is so nice!”

“She is an angel here on earth!”

“We should have known that (insert name here) would do the right thing…”

These are just a few examples of exclamations that I wish had been said about me.  I have always wanted to be nice.  Even if it was just for a day…

But, as you are likely aware, being nice is a difficult proposition.  I’m not talking about the random act of kindness as I contend that we are all capable of sporadic kindness.   So when I say ‘being nice’, I’m talking about an actual lifestyle. It must be difficult because I don’t know too many people who might qualify.  Occasionally l cross paths with a person that I place in that ‘just pretty darned nice’ category.  Sometimes it is a waitress that wears a clear mask so that patrons can read her lips, sometimes it is a clerk in a store that walks you to the item you are seeking rather than simply saying “aisle four”, and  sometimes it is a child that smiles warmly as they take the hand of another who clearly needs their hand held. 

Oh, to be nice…

I talked to my friend Wade today.  Wade is one of the luckiest, unlucky guys you might ever meet.  He has been through a lot in his lifetime, but recently an irritating backache became an emergency.

Wade lives on a ranch in rural Texas. When the pain moved from irritating to ‘get me a shot of whiskey’ he was transported to the nearest regional hospital emergency room. It was quickly determined that my friend needed expert help that could only be offered at a major medical center. A tear in an artery was compromising viability…

Did I mention that Wade was suddenly considering the whiskey shot while watching a rare Texas snow storm roll across the prairie? Calls were made. Air Ambulance denials were issued. The weather was simply too choppy to send a helicopter. More calls were made. And finally…a willing participant.

Seven days later, Wade was excused from the ICU.   I won’t bore you with the details but my friend of fifty years is promising to hang around a little longer to watch the next rare snowstorm roll across the Texas prairie.  

Maybe today Wade is wondering what I am wondering…on the morning of January the 8th, did the Pilot Trayne, the Flite Medic Michael, and the Flite Nurse Curt wake up and think ‘today, I’m going to do something nice?’ or are they living the lifestyle?  

I think I know.   It reminds me of a song that I remember from the late eighties/early nineties.  So, because I am so grateful to still have a friend named Wade, and because the world needs more inspiration to be nice (even if it is just for one day) I’ll tilt this glass of bourbon in honor of you Curt, and Michael, and Trayne as I recall this line that Bette Midler made famous…  

Did you ever know that you’re my hero
And everything I would like to be?

Thanks for listening!

Your friend,

KBM

Kevin Medlin
kevin@mysilentpew.com
1-29-21