A random act of kindness

As part of the preparation for my coming hip chop op (formally known as total hip replacement), I do regular bike rides. I charge down a hill and struggle up the next one, turn, and do the reverse. This morning, I managed 7 laps, then went home to enjoy some muscle soreness, the sign of building strength. That’s of course the aim of the game.

Only trouble is that, for about the 4th time, my bike gears have been misbehaving. I could only use the middle range.

Late afternoon, I needed something from the hardware shop, and found a fire truck and water tanker littering the road, with volunteer firemen lounging about in the heat while a couple hid in the shade under the tanker, fiddling with it.

On my return, I asked what was going on. They’d put out a small factory fire, then the tanker broke down, and now had to be fixed.

A tall fellow with glasses said, “Hey, I saw you this morning hooning along the Maroondah Highway at a great speed!”

I explained about training for my hip chop, and said it wasn’t all that fast, thanks to the faulty gears.

Another one said, “I used to be a bike mechanic.” He pulled out one of those pocket knives with 227 different tools, and within 5 minutes, my bike was working perfectly.

So, we introduced ourselves. The tall one was Pete, the bike magician “John, but everyone calls me Woody.”

We found we had mutual friends, and Woody had worked as an environmental volunteer, and so I invited them to visit. Gave them each one of my cards. Pete read it and laughed. On the bottom I have printed, “Commit random acts of kindness.”

“Mate,” he said, “you just got a random act of kindness.”

I did.

If everyone was like these two fine men, we’d have a good world.