Mr. Considerate

Today I came across a scene that stopped me in my tracks.

A motorcycle was parked on the sidewalk outside Whole Foods in Redwood City. It was unusual that it was on the sidewalk, but that was not the most unusual part.

Beside the motorcycle, partly under the engine, lay a small blue towel, folded neatly. On the towel was a small plastic bowl. In the bowl was a quantity of motor oil, which I assume had leaked out of the motorcycle engine.

This was amazing! The owner of this motorcycle was so considerate of his fellow citizens that he had placed a little container under his engine to catch the dripping oil and keep it off the sidewalk. And he had it on a towel as further insurance!

Think about that. Can you imagine a more civic-minded, caring act? Seriously!

You know this guy has to be the most polite, courteous and thoughtful person in town – maybe on the whole planet.

Upon reflection, I figured the motorcycle was probably owned by one of the employees in the store. There was quite a bit of oil in the container, and if the bike belonged to a shopper, it couldn’t have leaked that much oil in a short time.

But this possibility did not take away from the charity and thoughtfulness of the owner. Just completely cool.

It reminded me of what my wife and I saw on a visit to Japan. In Tokyo, a businessman walking down the street – suit, tie and briefcase – stopped to pick up a stray piece of paper on the sidewalk and deposit it in a nearby trash can.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a few more people like this in the world? OK, I know we’ll never convert everybody, maybe not even a lot of people. But how about just a few more thoughtful and considerate people to take the edge off the brutish rudeness that is so pervasive today?

Mr. Motorcycle Driver, I salute you. The world could sure use more people like you.