Dr. Rao and Family

Sunny here.

Funny how life has a way of connecting you with people you've never met.

When I was about 19, I was driving home alone after spending a weekend with my boyfriend and his family in San Antonio. I was a college student in College Station, TX, so I wasn't used to driving that particular route to the Texas Panhandle (about a 10-hour drive either way), and by the time I reached Lubbock, the radio was broadcasting all sorts of tornado warnings and thunderstorm watches. Well hell, I didn't know what county I was in or the names of all the small towns, and we didn't have cell phones back then. I considered pulling over more than once, but I kept on and finally made it home just fine.

Later, when I got back to College Station, I told a friend from Kress, TX, my story. He was the roommate of a friend, and I remembered he was from there and that his parents still lived in that small town. I told him I had thought of his parents during that rough drive and had even considered stopping and looking them up for a safe place to stop out of the storms because I was scared.

Well, my friend passed that story on to his mom and dad there in Kress, and boy did I get in trouble! His mom told him to tell me in no uncertain terms that I should have stopped at their house, stayed the night, and had a damn fine meal to boot! I explained that I hadn't wanted to impose on "strangers" and was told by his mother, through my friend (her son), that I was always welcome as I was not a "stranger" and that there was "no excuse" for my not stopping in, especially during an emergency. You gotta love parents who adopt you by proxy!

God love her, we've still never met, and I love that story.

I have always and continue to appreciate the parts of Texas that are still old fashioned. When it comes to hospitality, friendliness, food, conversation, and warmth, you can't beat the atmosphere you find here. Whether it's distant relatives, friends of friends of friends, or acquaintances of acquaintances, people still help and care for each other through the good and the bad.

I received a comment today from Dr. Kalpana Rao's daughter in response to a blog I posted two years ago. I'm touched that my thoughts and feelings could mean something to the family of a person I really didn't know all that well.

Guess my point is, we're all connected, and you'd be amazed how you affect someone else's life. I'll never forget the kindness a friend's parents wanted to show to me on that long trip home. And I'm happy, after all these years, that any words I (a very distant acquaintance) wrote had a positive effect on the family of Dr. Rao. She was a great lady.

Thank you,
Sunny