an encounter with a remarkably joyful person

I'm scheduled to have hernia surgery this week. Prior to surgery I had to get chest x-rays, an EKG, blood tests and a covid test. Last Saturday morning I drove to Winchester Medical Center for the covid test. Their walk-in office is open from 8 am to noon. I arrived at 9 am. Good! The first wave has gone through. I should be heading back home in a jiffy.

it didn't work out that way. the office was jammed with people. there were more people waiting in the hallway. an hour plus wait for a 5-minute test. 

while I was waiting the seat next to me opened up and an african american woman probably half my age took it. although we didn't speak I could tell that she was a naturally joyful person. she had a great smile. several times she offered her seat to others--old, young, a mother with a baby, caucasian, african american. it didn't make any difference. She exuded joy.

if I had been born african american then I probably would have been angry and militant. I probably would have been thinking "what are you doing offering your seat to white people? don't you know about BLM? white supremacists? slavery? haven't you heard about the Tulsa Massacre? Rosa Parks?" 

I couldn't help but think how different that the world would be if there were more people in the world like the woman sitting next to me.