This
is what happens when you live without preconceived notions about what
things mean, or assuming you know the intention of other people, then
you can meet the good in anyone.
This is me and Albert. I'm the white guy, he's the black guy. Albert is from Texas.
On
November 19, 2014, we were travelling from Toronto to Medicine Hat via
Calgary in one of the worst blizzards that Toronto had this winter. It
was so bad that planes were delayed for hours waiting for de-icing fluid
to clear wings for take-off. We started out on time and then the
backlog delayed so badly we missed our midnight connecting flight from
Calgary to Medicine Hat. The plane normally takes off at 1155 and we
landed at 1203. For some reason, they didn't hold the plane.
There
were several people that missed connectors. We were the only two going
to my home town. Air Canada said they didn't have any hotel rooms
available because their rooms were filled up and the only ones available
were over an hour away. They told us to go get our bags and we could
stay in the terminal. Then in the morning they would get us on a plane.
With a few more apologies that was it we were on our own.
So
there we were waiting for our bags. So I got my phone out and tracked
down a hotel room that wasn't' too far and wasn't too expensive with 2
beds. I walked over to him and asked him if he wanted to share the
room?
Do you know what he was doing? He was on the
phone with his travel agent trying to find a hotel with two rooms. He
couldn't find a room so he was destined to stay on a hard airport chair
that night.
So we ended up sharing a taxi, chatting
till 230 in that cold room, and then back for breakfast and the flight
out the next morning. I gave him a ride to his appointment and that was
that. I think I've made a friend and I made sure a guest to my city and
country was taken care of. And I didn't harm him as his wife feared,
which we both laughed at when he told her he was going to a hotel with
some random white guy.
None of this would have
happened if we both assumed the worst, nor assumed there was something
to be concerned about. None of that would have happened if he had
listened to his wife. To live without preconceptions is to keep all possible options
open.
So you can interpret me saying black guy is a
racially-motivated epithet, or just a description of a person without
knowing his name. It's up to you and your preconceptions.