Here's a little episode from this morning's metro ride to work... I was standing in a half-empty early morning metro car (I always try to stand, as I spend enough time sitting every day), when a short, stocky young man suffering from Down syndrome came shuffling down the aisle, looking just a little dishevelled and heavily cross-eyed. As he came closer, I saw him stop by people who were sitting, and looking at them fairly closely. The ones I saw obviously felt uncomfortable and moved, some going as far as getting up and going to a different section of the car.
He then stopped by a fairly attractive blonde woman who was standing close to me, looking up at her intently...as she didn't move away, he held out his hand and touched her arm, then he actually laid his head on her upper body for a moment. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away, or yell at him... she just put her arm around him for a moment and gave him a little hug. He didn't linger but moved away, further down the aisle.
When the next station approached, both the blonde and I moved towards the door. He then came shuffling back to us, and as I was standing closest to the door, he motioned me to back off, which I did... I understood he wanted to be the one to push the button that opens the doors. We all got off together, and I lost sight of him. But I thought it was a very nice gesture of the young woman to not push him away but show a little human kindness and it made me wonder what I would have done in her place.
