Two Tales That Disprove the Myth of Rude New Yorkers

I was standing idly on the West 4th Street platform the other day, waiting for the F, crossword puzzle in hand, trying to look cool. To my left, was a row of platform seats, where a homeless man sat, surrounded by garbage bags and a ragged coat over his head. About 50 feet left of the man, stood an elderly Chinese woman. This woman was accessorized with a grandma hat and a rolling backpack. I watched as the woman unzipped her backpack, revealing numerous red Chinatown grocery bags, and pulled out a steam bun. She then approached the man cautiously and nudged him with her foot. She handed the bread to him with a napkin and said "Here Chinese food" in broken English. The man looked at the woman with curiosity and awe, taking the food hesitantly. No words were exchanged between the two but from their expressions, I can see the enormous gratitude held by the man and the great sense of satisfaction felt by the woman.

Similarly, this happened over the weekend: http://thecomicscomic.typepad.com/thecomicscomic/2010/01/seeing-a-man-on-the-subway-tracks-what-would-you-do.html

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, comic Sean McCarthy was returning home after work when he found a man out cold on the subway tracks. Immediately seeing this, he alerted the MTA staff on duty. They proceeded to inform the conductor of the next arriving train but it was too late. As the train was approaching, McCarthy frantically flail his arms shouting at the conductor to the stop the train. Luckily, it did. The man was rescued from the tracks and McCarthy saved the man's life. Now, remember that subway hero last year who jumped into the tracks and pulled a man out? No, McCarthy did not do that but he did something that was physically possible for any human being. Personally, I cannot pull a man from the subway tracks but I can certain flail my arms in an attempt to stop a moving train.

Not to preach from the Coplin camp of "do good," but even the simplest acts of good deeds can benefit others greatly. You may not have food to spare to a homeless man or the audacity to stop a moving subway but acts like holding the door, giving up a seat on a bus, or simply saying "thank you," these are things that everyone can do.