The Kindness of Strangers

In the film A Streetcar Named Desire, the character Blanche DuBois utters the famous line, "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers."  Of course, when she said it, Blanche was pretty much headed for the insane asylum, but that's beside the point.  At this moment in my life, I am having to consider the implications of letting people help me through a difficult time as well as accepting gifts from those who wish me well as I transition to a new phase.

I have always been blessed with good friends.  I don't throw around the word "blessed" without thinking that it sounds a little religious for a sworn atheist like me.  But "blessed" is actually what it is.  As a child, through my school years, and into my working life, I have had the great fortune to be surrounded by good people.  They came in all shapes and sizes, they flitted into and out of my life at exactly the right points, and I was always the better for knowing them.  In fact, even in the friendships that ended badly--and I can count those on the fingers of one hand--I still find something redeeming from the fact that I experienced the relationship. 

Now, my friends and co-workers are sharing their good wishes with me, sometimes to the tune of a gift, a lunch, a special e-mail, or some other token of affection.  I am overwhelmed by it all.  Some of the most generous, thoughtful, and decent people in the world work at the Sacramento Superior Court, and I am the better for having known them. 

So, my blog readers, you will have to bear with me for the next few weeks as I reflect on and appreciate the great blessing that has been given me through the friendships I have made at work.  I'm going to be mushy, and there's just nothing I can do about it.