11/24/12 – A funny thing happened on the way to prayer circle

The elevator was still in Shabat mode so I took the stairs to the fourth floor to go to our meeting room.  Sr. Jocelyn would be giving a presentation on the history behind the next day’s planned agenda.  As I exited the stairwell I ran into the large group of Nigerians that I had seen earlier in the day at Mt. Tabor.  They wore green and white felt hats and extremely colourful matching outfits.  One of the men motioned for me to come into his room.  “You work here, don’t you?”

This wasn’t the first time this has happened to me.  Since my late teens I have often been mistaken for an employee of wherever I happen to be.  Canadian Tire, garden centres, Home Depot even despite my lack of an orange smock, and I’ll never forget that unfortunate incident at Humber River Regional Hospital when I was mistaken for a doctor simply because I was holding a clipboard.  The patient, an elderly woman dropped her gown in front of me in preparation for her examination…traumatizing stuff for a 23 year old.

I told the Nigerian man that I didn’t work at the hotel but he insisted that I go with him to help fix his television.  So I did.  It ended up being a loose cable, an easy fix.  He asked for my phone number since we were now “friends” and we could keep in touch.  I gave him my work number but I’m pretty sure he mixed up the last four numbers… he has my old boss’s number.  But if you want to give Petex a call you can reach him at 08025989397.

Word that a television repairman was in town spread quickly and a woman grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into her room while ignoring my protests.  Her remote control wasn’t working and she was also upset that she couldn’t get any English stations.

“I don’t like Hebrew, I want to hear English!”

I told her she needed a new remote control, one that looked like Petex’s; I said it as if I had known my new “friend” my whole life.

Seeing the opportunity for escape, I made a quick move for the door and hurried past the Nigerian throng before I was asked to fix something else.  When I explained to dad why I was late all he could say was “Something like that could only happen to you”.  The rest of my group was disappointed in me for not getting the woman’s number…with missed opportunities like that I’d never get married!

At the end of Sr. Jocelyn’s presentation she asked everybody to share their favourite memory of the day.  Some became very emotional wen telling their story; some even cried.  It was clear that this trip was a powerful spiritual experience for them.  And while I didn’t share their beliefs I was happy to be amongst good people.  I would much rather be here with my father than on some cookie cutter tour that lacked any feeling or introspection.