A Stranger's Kindness

     Something was wrong with my ticket.
     The fare gate to the subway in Boston didn't open. I inserted the ticket into other turnstiles. Still no response.
     A train pulled in. I contemplated jumping the gate but thought the better of it.
     Frustrated, I asked a passerby for advice. He swiped his long term pass into the bar code reader of a turnstile. The gate opened. He invited me to pass through it, and I did.
    His act of kindness would draw $1.75 from his account with the transit authority. I offered to reimburse him. He smiled, declined my offer, and walked away.
     His random act of kindness made my day. My reaction to him calls to mind a quote by the late Joshua Heschel:
     'When I was young I admired clever people. When I was old I admired kind people'.