Monthly Archive for May, 2008

The Kindness of Strangers

Through the use of the public transportation here in Vienna, I am more exposed to people than ever before. A definite upside is being able to watch the kindness of strangers.

An old woman was using the U-Bahn (underground train) and was sitting comfortably until her stop came. She got up a few moments before the train was to stop, and already unsteady on her feet, lost her balance when the train unexpectedly surged forward. She started to teeter backward and looked as if she was going to fall. Suddenly different hands shot out. One grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, another guided her hand to a handle to hold on to, and another wrapped her fingers around the handle. Grateful for the help, the old woman thanked the strangers around her. She then got off the train in one piece, without the humiliation of falling.

Another moment in the U-Bahn. It was a hot day and people had crammed themselves into the train. It was rush hour and everyone wanted to get home to enjoy what was left of the nice weather. A young woman was standing next to me and had a backpack like device on her back. Her toddler daughter was sitting in it. The daughter told her mother that she was thirsty, but the mother said that she couldn’t reach the water bottle in the backpack. The train was too crowded and their stop was coming up shortly. The exchange went back and forth for awhile (you try reasoning with a toddler). The poor child was making signs of wanting to cry with frustration, heat, and tiredness. Another woman, who was watching this exchange, hesitantly offered to get the water for the mother and help the toddler drink. The young mother was grateful for the offer and took her up on it. The daughter was able to quench her thirst all because a sympathetic woman was standing near by.

I’ve experienced the kindness of strangers myself. Vienna is a big city and if I go somewhere new, I have to bring my map with me. The U-Bahn is so efficient that I have no problem finding my way near where I want to go. Once I am up on the street though, I have to refer to the map. I stand at street level like an idiot trying to decide if I came out west or east of the street, north or south. How many times has a person stopped and asked me if I need help? Enough for me to think I no longer need my map.  ; )

The kindness has inspired me to act and pass it on. Paul and I were walking to the U-Bahn and saw an older couple looking a bit confused. They were clearly tourists and had not yet gotten used to the U-Bahn system. We asked if we could help them and they explained what U-Bahn station they wanted to get out at. We said we were going the same way and that if they came with us, we would tell them when to get off the train. Happily they came with us. When it came time for them to get off, the wife was so grateful for our help that she grabbed my hand and kissed it. Such a simple, small kindness that cost me nothing, but obviously helped the couple out.

 

Oversexed Austrians!

Okay we all know that in comparison to Europeans, we Americans are a prudish lot. We admire the Europeans for being so open, but there is a limit this American can take.
 
Now please keep in mind that I am in marketing and have an annoying habit of noticing advertisements in all forms (radio, TV, magazine, billboard) that others just might pass by. But really, how is one not to notice my below examples as to why the Austrians are an oversexed lot?
 
Magazine cover: Three women are laying down and they are covered with some sort of material that is in the form of pellets. They are clearly naked and the pellets only cover the essentials. What is interesting is that one woman’s head is lying directly in the crotch of another woman. With raised eyebrows I wonder what they are advertising…heating material! Guess these girls won’t get cold!
 
TV commercial: A man is in a restaurant and having dinner with friends when the waitress approaches and asks what he would like to drink. As he takes a moment to think about it, images flash of a bare breast, naked back, a rumbled bed, a naked man and woman embracing…you get the idea. Can you guess what they are advertising? Sparkling water of course!
 
TV commercial: The camera starts on the floor of a home, which has clothing strewn all over it and starts moving up until it shows  a bed with a couple making love. We see the woman arch her back in ecstasy and then butterflies explode from her body. The camera feverishly follows the butterflies as they fly through the house and outside to the backyard where they form and merge into a little girl sitting on a swing. Point of the ad? Put your money into this bank and get a higher percent interest rate. Gotta support that kid that you just might be making right now! A BANK for crying out loud!
 
Underground station poster: A Museum in Vienna uses a black and white photo of a woman’s very naked body to advertise their exhibit. Please keep in mind that people of ALL ages use the underground. How do you explain, “Mommy, why does the woman have hair there?”
 
Yeesh!




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