People have patience during this long, holiday season

My sister-in-law was complaining about the unfriendliness of South Floridians on Facebook the other day. Not sure why, but she had her panties in a wad. She said it's not like up in Ohio where she is from (35 years ago, mind you). I told her it's friendly in the Grove and I've always lived in friendly areas here in Miami. I feel it's like that here in Coconut Grove.

A day later, I was leaving my neighborhood, driving my car. I have to exit onto South Bayshore Drive to get anywhere. A car in front of me was exiting and he turned South on South Bayshore. As he turned, his hatchback opened and everything in the car fell out. It was almost in slow motion as it happened; as he drove one thing at a time plopped out onto the middle of South Bayshore Drive. It looked like a few instruments, guitars or violins in cases, and boxes and other things. All right out in the center of the road. 

What happened next? All cars stopped. I was already stopped, trying to get out of the neighborhood and the cars going north and south on South Bayshore stopped. They could have maneuvered around the things strewn on the road, but they didn't. They stopped. And two or three people and I all got out of our cars, without prompting, and proceeded to help pick up the items one by one and put them in the back of the car, which was down the road a little bit.  It was three ladies and me. We just calmly did it and the traffic in either direction that was backing up to maybe 15 or 20 cars going in either direction, north and south, just calmly waited as the few of us picked up the fallen items and brought them back to the man's car.

The amazing thing is not so much that we jumped out of our cars to help without even thinking about it, but that the long line of cars sat patiently. No one beeped, no one yelled or tried to get around the mess.

When we got everything back in the car, people who were helping went back to their cars, I was the last. I had to cross South Bayshore to get back to my car. And know what happened? People waited. After all that happened, people were not in a mad rush to be off. They waited as I crossed the street and got into my car. And they let me cross and turn onto South Bayshore Drive and then both lines of cars, one going south and one going north, proceeded.

The man who we helped was so happy, he was yelling out, "Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!" I think he was just as surprised as I was at how everyone just jumped in to help. I was amazed at the patience of the drivers who waited, and know that most people driving by were probably not Grovites but fellow South Floridians, hopefully not just in the Christmas spirit, but in that nice goodwill spirit all year long. It was on Festivus, actually. So maybe we can all be in a Festivus mode all year long. It was a nice experience and I'm glad I took it all in as it was happening.