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Email a FriendWow, wow, wow! I can’t tell you how often I have thought of your story and wondered how it all ended. Thank you for posting this. What a wonderful lesson in learning to not interpret others actions, because we really have no idea. I hope this one sticks with me for a long, long time!
Peace of the Puzzle
A-ha!
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, January 05, 2009 8:56 PM
Since Danielle mentioned it, I realized I never followed-up with you on the interaction between me and my fellow parishioner.
A few weeks after all this took place, we were leaving Mass when Paul saw the gentleman and thought it would be a good time to approach him. My husband had no intention of being agressive or confrontational—at this point, we were more curious than anything else.
Just as Paul was about to talk to the man, however, my husband got a good look at his face and realized—he just wasn’t all there. Something seemed off, and seeing him from a different angle helped us realize that this gentleman was suffering in some quiet, barely noticeable way.
We watched as the man and his wife approached the deacon to shake his hand, and right before our eyes the man did the same thing to the deacon that he had done to me weeks before. He watched his wife offer a handshake and then he stared at the deacon when the deacon extended his hand. As the couple walked off, the wife leading her husband, Paul and I realized there was so much more to this story than what met our eyes.
It was a good learning lesson, I suppose, in assuming the best. Or maybe, in the end, we really did the right thing. It’s only natural to be caught off guard by such odd behavior, but how we treated that man is what really matters. Ultimately, I’m glad my husband didn’t act as I had (initially) hoped he would, demanding an explanation from this gentleman.
In the end, it was a good lesson in choosing kindness and patience and love.
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Posted by Rachel Balducci on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 1:41 PM (EDT):
Yes, Karnak, I’m thinking it’s some form of dementia.
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