The Kindness of Strangers

Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire certainly knew what she was talking about when she said she depended on the kindness of strangers. Trying to escape from the window seat in the airplane to get to the bathroom, I wrenched my right arm so badly I couldn't move it for the rest of the flight.

If this ever happens to you, make sure that you are sitting in a row with a Mormon missionary. Elder Quiros and I had already talked across the empty seat between us about his church, the two years he had just spent in San Jose, California, and how anxious he was to return home for the first time in two years.

But, despite his anticipation of seeing his family for the first time in 24 months, he insisted on getting my carry on bag down from the overhead and offered to walk it off the plane for me.

What a shame the world does not have more Mormon missionaries.