For the Love of Otis, Elias, and Others

Please know people are good.

I forget sometimes, when I read the news or listen to public radio on my way to work. Or when I delve into the crimes committed by the men I teach.

When so much violence, treachery, and petty bickering surrounds us, its easy to get caught in a cycle of dismay. An endless loop of hate and destruction can taint my view of the world--and yet this planet holds so much beauty. Not just in sunsets, mountain vistas, or fields of Poppies, but us humans, wounded and fallible, carry the potential for revolutionary kindness, compassion, and yes, beauty.

Sometimes this potential arrives in packages delivered by the Postal Service.

Over the past few months our local mail carriers placed the slips for not one but two such packages in our P.O. Box.

The first bundle came all the way from Pennsylvania, from a family I've never met, but who share a connection, Elias's first speech therapist, who worked with our son from when we measured his age in months until he turned three. Mae Ann Smith reached out to her East Coast family to share Elias's love of elevators, a family with two  employees of the Otis Elevator Company.

Thanks to their unfounded generosity, Elias is now the proud owner of five Otis shirts; he even owns two long sleeve button down work shirts, the kind that real elevator repairmen wear.

Elias may not possess the dexterity and vision to someday fix elevators, but he knows to hold the "door open" button for everyone who enters behind him and will let his fellow travelers know the make and model of the ride. He may even comment on the sound of the engine or whether or not the elevator levels properly.

And honestly, when I think about it, I understand Elias's fixation with elevators. Predictable machines with the power to transport us to different spaces. Similar in structure yet with subtle details to define their differences. All of us, no matter our size, sex, or ability, step inside these metal boxes and rise or descend in unison.

And all those buttons to push!

As if this first package wasn't enough proof of the goodness of others, a second box arrived a few weeks ago from a former student, fellow poet, and friend of mine named Jenny Kulas. Jenny has a friend who works for the Elevator Contractors' Union and though this friend doesn't know our family she passed on some classic elevator memorabilia salvaged from an old building before it was torn down.

And when I say classic, I mean Otis Elevator Company patent and model placards, with dates from the early 1900's, along with a vintage switch. 

Needless to say these antique elevator accessories will soon find a place of honor in Elias's room.

(Much to Olive's delight, Jenny also included The Book of Heroines for my daughter to devour before bed.)

So if you are having one of those days where the world seems more menacing than luminous, please know that wherever you travel the kind-hearted live. We just sometimes forget to look for the souls that shine despite the unpredictable hazardous weather.

Thank you friends for sending bundles of joy to my family.

And to all of you out there in this broken but beautiful world, may love find you, especially when you need it most.

Comments

[Leslie Spilman]

Love seeing Elias’s smiling face and following his journey

Wish Adams Camp was still happening in AK.

[greta]

Thanks for the reminder! Needed one today :)

[Christy]

We do too Leslie. Any time Greta, hugs to you!