Francis Gay: Heroes are often in the least expected places

I BUMPED into Michael in the petrol station.

We were both in the sweets and crisps aisle. He was his usual cheery self but seemed in a hurry.

I asked if everything was okay and he explained his wife was feeling a bit down this evening so he was keen to get back to her.

“Her latest round of chemotherapy has been delayed and it’s worrying her,” he said.

He sat his purchases up by the till and added: “So, I’m trying choc-o-therapy tonight, mixed with heavy doses of hug-o-therapy.”

And, collecting his change, he was off with a smile and a wave.

You do meet heroes in the most unexpected of places!

———————————————————-

NIALL turned 30 this weekend and, as a popular, likable guy with a sprawling collection of family and friends, the big day was celebrated with a proper Highland hoolie.

“It’s funny,” his big sister Catriona told me ahead of the party, “Niall’s about to turn 30, he’s a big, strapping, shinty-loving lad in a high-pressure job, happily married and eagerly expecting his first child.

“But, sometimes, when I look at him, I can’t help but think of that mischievous wee boy from my childhood who would insist on going to bed wearing nothing but his favourite pair of welly boots!”

Ah, it seems that no matter how grown up, responsible and mature our lives become, there’s always someone there to bring you back down to earth with a cheery bump.

So a happy birthday to you, Niall I hope you gave it some welly!

———————————————————-

“NOTHING stays the same,” said Craig. “Not even families.”

He showed me the picture of what he called his “21st Century family”.

The photo showed his Scottish grand-daughter having a snack, his Indian-Scots grandson playing with a toy truck, and his wife, Skyping on the laptop with their daughter in America.

He explained that the noise of his American grandson playing could clearly be heard in the living room, even though he was an ocean away.

“Mmm…” I agreed our ancestors might have wondered at the scene. “But one important thing hasn’t changed,” I said, pointing to his sweetheart. “Grandma is still the heart of the family!”

———————————————————-

MAUREEN was telling me how she’d bought nuts to feed a wee squirrel that liked to visit her garden.

Maureen had laid the nuts out in a tray and, sure enough, it had soon hopped on top of her wall, had had a sniff at the nuts and then quickly stuffed its cheeks.

It had then sped away and dug a hole in the earth and hid the bounty, before it leapt back onto the wall and once again gathered more nuts and searched elsewhere to hide them.

Maureen knew it was storing the food for the coming winter and it made her think maybe we could learn a bit from that little squirrel by making sure we prepare for sparse times ahead, instead of just relying on providence.

———————————————————-

A true friend is a blessing, So cherish them with care, How good to have them in our life, And know they’re always there; A comfort when we’re lonely, A joy when we are sad, What strength and inspiration, Of them we should be glad.