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God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

IMG_3695Don’t you love this time of year when the weather is nice?  The tourists are hanging off the cable car, smiling as they coast down Powell Street.  I took a picture of a couple on my way to work this morning.

Yesterday on my way home, I noticed an old blind woman having trouble crossing the street. She seemed to be lost.  I touched her shoulder, “Hi, can I help you?”  She grabbed my arm for support.  I continued, “You’re at Mason and Sutter.”

“Don’t tell me where I am,” she snuffed.  “Don’t you know that blind people know where they are at all times?”  I didn’t know what to do so I just held her arm.  “Help me cross the street.”  I walked her across the street and she let go of my arm.  “I know exactly where I am.”  But she didn’t.  She kept tapping away at the gutter, trying to feel her way around.  I watched her for a few minutes in anguish, knowing she would yell at me if I offered help again.

I was thinking about her all night and then again today when I walked to work.  You can’t help people unless they’re willing to accept it so I need to let it go.

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05.20.10

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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