Not Many People...

Sometime last week, the exterminator showed up to do their first treatment for spiders and such. I was kind of surprised when the bug guy turned out to be a bug girl. I was even more surprised when she came in the house, shook my hand, saw Carson's harness hanging on the front door knob and asked, "Is this a Seeing Eye dog?" She then said that her son had a Canine Companion dog prior to his passing(her son, not the dog).
My heart goes out to anyone who loses a child. That simply should not happen-adults and parents should NOT outlive their kids. We talked a little more and when I explained my blindness was due to a car crash, she shared a horrible crash she'd been in as a teenager. We talked a little more and, before she left, I handed her a copy of my book. As she flipped the book over and read the synopsis on the back, her voice dropped. "A drunk driver did this to you?" I guess I'd left that part of the story out. At this point, she started to break into tears.
I've been around some folks who get emotional at hearing my loss of sight, but this was...different. Turns out, this girl's sister had been driving while intoxicated several months ago and injured another person. The very next day, her sis was being sentenced. Awful. Just awful. "I want her to read this...I hope she'll learn something from it...if the crash didn't teach her already." I concurred and I really do hope she'll share it.
A few days later, I got an incredibly sweet E mail from this bug girl. In it, she thanked me, cited some passages from the book that spoke to her and said how she'd love me to visit the kids and nurses at the nursing home where her son lived his final years.
However, that wasn't the part that kicked me in the heart. She said, "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me...not many people talk to a bug girl."

I understand that there are people in the world who look at others as less. I understand that the have nots of society are sometimes viewed as irrelevant by the haves. I know that many people think that because of their position in life, it gives them license to treat others like dirt. I understand this happens-but I freaking hate it. Why do I hate it? Because it's the way I'm sometimes treated due to my blindness. Did I do anything special for this girl? In my book, no. In her book, yes. But the truth is, we all, ALL should simply treat others like we want to be treated(don't quote me on this, I'm pretty sure it's plagarized).
If you're in the greater Orlando area and want a sweetheart to take care of your extermination needs, let me know-I've got the girl for you.