Kindness on the Canadian Commute

You’re late for a job interview, you’ve got a killer of a headache, and you’re battling nerves and a bad hair day. Could it get any worse?

Of course not. It gets better. A fellow passenger on your subway train expresses concern and asks if you’re all right. Another commuter gives you an Advil for your head pain. Someone else passes you a juice box to help you swallow it. Several subway riders start prepping you for your interview, giving you advice on making a good impression. A teenager hands over a hair elastic so you can tie back your unruly hair.

This short sequence of events epitomizes what it is to be Canadian, at least according to witness Salma Hamidi, who posted a quick-to-go-viral note about it. (She’s the subway passenger who donated the headache pill to the man in need.) According to Salma, the individuals committing the various acts of kindness were a beautiful and benevolent mix of men and women of different ages, colours and religions.

And as far as she’s concerned, that’s typical of this country. “If this isn’t the ultimate Canadian experience, short of a beaver walking into a bar holding a jar of maple syrup, I don’t know what is!” she wrote in her jubilant note on Facebook.

That’s our true north, strong and free. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

With glowing hearts we see thee get the job… here’s hoping, anyway. (Freeimages.com/Kryzsztof (Kriss) Szkurlatowski)