My Honeydews Tumbled Away and a Band of Kind Older Women Came to the Rescue
One Saturday morning, I accompanied my mother to the nearby market for our regular produce shopping. Mum was still looking around when I volunteered to bring the groceries back to the vehicle, which was packed into a little red trolley. It was like a magical bag – rather compact, but it was astonishing how much you could load it up. That's what we believed.
With the trolley straining under the load of an already full load of groceries, my mum placed a box of honeydew melons on top. She warned me to be careful taking it back to the car.
All was proceeding smoothly as I weaved my way through the crowds of people and out of the market. But as I was crossing the hectic main crossing into the market, the trolley got stuck on the traffic island in the middle of the road, and the crate of melons tumbled to the ground. They went flying, spectacularly rolling out towards passersby and waiting cars.
As the little walking man switched from green to stop, I was stunned, mouth agape, trying to figure out how I was going to retrieve the melons rolling in six different directions.
Suddenly, a band of three or four elderly ladies sprang to my rescue. White hair, scarves and one with a walking stick – they looked like they had emerged of the same nesting doll. They weren’t deterred by the cars creeping their way towards us. Utterly fearless, they just held up their hands to stop the traffic, in each direction. They gathered all the melons for me, retrieving a solitary melon, as I repaired the box to hold them.
I expressed gratitude to them and they remained silent, just smiled and waved me goodbye. I never consumed the melons – I was never a real fan of honeydew – but I tell this story all the time because I adore it so much.
What is the Kindest Thing a Stranger Has Done for You?
Whether it brightened your day to changing your life, we want to hear about random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Please share your experience if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you prefer.
