This Just In — If your family gatherings over the holidays were anything at all like mine, well … bless your heart!
Not to brag, but (here comes the brag) I had family gatherings that included folks from age 18 months to 85 years, family who came here from Chicago, California, Connecticut, Charlotte (that’s a lot of C’s) and we attended large events in Raleigh (twice) and Cary (another C) across six weeks’ time.
It was a lot. I won’t lie. It was exhausting, but here’s the thing … in planning these weeks, I fully expected that in mixing up all these germs from all these locations among school-aged kids and senior citizens, somebody or some group of somebodies was going to get sick.
I base this only on the biased information of doing these gatherings for about 15 years now across Thanksgiving week. The following week, I would almost invariably have a cold that would be shared between and among my tribe though Christmas.
Not this year. Nobody. Nada.. Nuthin. No complaints here, just pure amazement.
In the lobby of a local Hotel, my brother and I walked in and past a gentleman wearing an Army sweatshirt. This was the day after the Army-Navy game, which featured an exciting finish and a loss for Army.
“Great game yesterday,” I said. “I’m sorry your team lost but it was still a great game.” We had a lovely chat for a minute or so and he continued on his way out of the hotel.
My brother marveled at this exchange. This would never happen at home (New England), he said. He found, as my family often does when they visit, that “people are so friendly here.”
He’s not referring to anyone in rush hour traffic on the beltline in Raleigh or in the mad dash for the best parking space at Best Buy on Christmas Eve. Those situations live here, too, but the small things in everyday encounters are genuinely different.
Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I made a run to the post office with six boxes to be shipped to Chicago. Walking up the steps to the first door, I was carrying three of the six boxes. They were small but well-packed so I needed two hands to carry them in.
Someone coming out saw this and leapt to get the first door for me, then the second as I proceeded in. We exchanged New Year’s greetings. Inside, there was but one person about to step up to the window who motioned that I might go ahead of her. “No, thank you,” I explained, “I have three more to bring in.”
I put the first boxes down and she said “Oh, go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on these.” I returned, this time struggling to get the doors myself as my knight in shining armor had departed. She finished her transaction, then turned to leave with a cheerful “Happy New Year!” On her way out.
As I entered the scene, there was no line, but by the time my shipping exercise was completed, there was another clerk working and a line of six or more people waiting behind me, most of them smiling and wishing me Happy New Year on the way out.
It all reminds me of the feeling in attending the No Kings demonstrations in Hillsborough last year. I look forward to attending this year’s event though I’d prefer not to need them. These events have been vital in reminding us that the civility and humanity that exists in this community is almost entirely in our hands.
The more we find ways (large and small) to support each other on common ground and display the courtesies that we value, the more we undermine the forces of division and cruelty that are plainly a threat to our domestic tranquility.
Happy New Year, y’all.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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This Just In: Happy New Year! Chapelboro.com.
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