Ticket to Ride With Us

I had a really nice experience a couple of weeks ago that I thought would be nice to share with all of you. We were at a really cool store in Queen Anne called Blue Highway Games with our friend Jon. The great thing about this board game store is that they have a copy of each of their games available for people to just come in and play. They have a bunch of tables in the back to sit at and you can stay as long as they are open. So we played a game that I had never played before and that I can't remember the name of. I lost, no surprise there, but it was fun all the same.

While we were finsihing the end of the game a couple who looked in their 30's came into the store and started playing Ticket to Ride. Apparently there was to be a Ticket to Ride tournament the next week and so they wanted to brush up. about 5 minutes later an old gentleman (probably 70-75) came in and asked if he could sign up for the tournament. The guy at the desk replied that of course he could and asked if he had played the game before. He hadn't. The guy that worked there went over to the couple playing the game (who hadn't even started yet), explained the situation and asked if they would let the old  man play with them. Without even considering it they said no. I was flabbergasted! I know that I have a particular soft spot in my heart for old people, but seriously, how cold of them. 

The old man sat on the little couch alone and began reading the directions of the game alons (there were two copies of that game). As soon as we finished the game we were playing I jumped up and asked the old man if he wanted someone to play that game with him. We invited the man to our table, found out that his name was Don, and had Jon start explaining how to play. Since Ricky and I hadn't played before either, Don didn't feel like he was holding us back or anything. We had a great time with the game and all walked out at the end of the night feeling great.

I wish that lovely opportunities to be kind and charitable would crop up more often and that I was more aware of them. It feels good to help someone out in a way that is safe and that doesn't involve handing money to a guy with a sign on the street corner. Thanks Don.