I remember that unassuming and cool evening as well
as if it happened yesterday. Another all-day long shift, taking charge of
different rides of the amusement park where I was employed during my summer
vacations, only to get a chance to visit the United States again. Only to
breathe that air again. Only to experience more of the world and people sharing
it with me.
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It was almost the closing time and a fireworks display was well underway nearby and as a result the attraction I was in charge of
operating was deserted. At some point, seemingly stepping directly out from the darkness, a black father came up to me asking if his
disabled daughter could take a ride. After
making sure that it wouldn’t be harmful to her I agreed and helped him to put
the girl on the ride. Little did I know that meeting him would leave a firm imprint on my personality.
Almost mechanically, I pressed the red button and with the first
movements of the sluggish machinery something more
beautiful than the greatest movie scene imaginable began
unfolding just in front of my eyes. The girl’s mother was standing peacefully in
the background, while the father was shouting his daughter’s name all the time not being able to take his eyes of her, in a state reminiscent of a deep
trance. You could tell that if a bomb suddenly exploded next to him, he certainly
wouldn’t have noticed that.
In the meantime, his physically and possibly
also mentally impaired daughter was smiling and laughing her heart out loud hearing
her name repeatedly shouted by her father, but her happiness was nothing
compared to the ecstasy that was experienced by that man. He was seeming to
have been going through the best moment of his life, literally-the world’s happiest, most
optimistic, satisfied and fortunate man. Despite the tragedy of
his daughter, he didn’t show that anything could pull him down or that he was in
any way less lucky than any other person around him.
Being a witness to such a mighty display of unconditional
love, this whole situation was almost too much for me to bear and I was close
to getting too emotional myself and only with the greatest of efforts was I able
to maintain my composure.
When the ride was over, and the father came to
pick his daughter up I wanted to let him know that unwillingly he has provided me with one of the most
precious lessons of my life, but I was so emotional that the words got stuck up
halfway my throat, but I don’t regret that, because people like him don’t do
anything to attract the attention of bystanders or support of onlookers. They
are the people who bring the light to the world.
Nowadays, we are constantly bombarded with
cheap emotionality of TV series and movies, but the ordinary, harsh life often
happening far away from the spotlight of the media, while all the others are
“busy watching the fireworks” offers more true emotions than any artificial
scene of love.
