Dumped by phone...t hen kindness came calling

Getting outdoors on autumn days, Boosts us up no end, For the ills and chills of winter, Waiting round the bend. Crunching through fallen leaves, Walking in the crisp fresh air, Brings laughter and enjoyment, For all the family to share.

Rick sees Bob on a regular basis, sitting begging outside the restaurant Rick works in.

But he had never seen him as a customer until he walked in with a well-dressed young man. They both had a really enjoyable evening.

Taking Bob a coffee the next morning, he asked who his dinner partner had been.

“He was waiting for his date,” Bob explained.

“But she phoned to tell him they were over. I kind of consoled him. Then, rather than go home and be miserable, he invited me to join him.

“You know, I think that girl might have made a mistake. Not many folk would be happy to be seen eating with me.”

Rick reckoned Bob had a point. I hope the young man’s broken heart – which still had it in it to be kind to another amid his own pain – is healing now.

Graham set out to do some “man’s work”.

He was dressed in paint-spattered clothes and his steel toe-capped boots.

But the materials didn’t arrive. So he went to a cafe for lunch, then spent an hour sitting on the floor doing an alphabet jigsaw with the cafe owner’s son.

The next day he and his wife were passing when Sharon, the cafe owner, was opening up. The previous day was mentioned and Graham said: “Yeah, but I got no work done.”

Sharon objected to that and said: “My son went to bed singing his alphabet. I’ve tried to teach him that countless times.

“He wouldn’t take it from me, but I think he hero worships you!”

Graham was stunned. “It turns out,” he admitted to me later, “there’s more to ‘man’s work’ than drilling holes and mixing cement!”

Generations come and generations go – but the links are important.

Twice recently, I heard inspiring stories of epic dashes, taking a new baby – in one instance, hoping for, and getting, an early birth – to visit an older family member before they passed on.

Thinking back, I have heard many such stories. Why does it have such an importance?

Perhaps because the new baby is proof for the departing generation that their life’s work will live on after them.

On the other side, roots are so important to our mental and emotional stability. Having your child know that, for a day at least, they were part of something longer, something grander, than the family they will know most of their life, is surely a gift worth going to great lengths to give.

Then there is love. A connection that outlives us all – and should be seen to do so.

It was a strange encounter but, perhaps, one with a message.

Beth had some life-changing decisions to make. She was so engrossed in thinking through the options that she didn’t notice the coffee ship filling up until an older woman asked if she could share her table.

They started chatting. The other woman asked what was on Beth’s mind.

She listened without interrupting, then unfastened her brooch. It was a bird, made from blue and white shells.

She pressed it into Beth’s hand, saying: “The swallow always knows the right time to fly north and the right time to fly south. You will know when the time is right.” And then she left.

And the message, for those of us not lucky enough to meet inspirational women in coffee shops? Follow your heart. And fly!