My property, my chance

It was one of the hottest days of the year. I don't know if it was the hottest afternoon on record for the summer, but it had to be close. I would have been in my cool residence, but an outdoor orchestra concert routed me from that cool comfort to a concert venue on the performance stage at a downtown urban park. While I do prefer hot weather, even I thought this was a scorcher with the unrelenting high humidity making outdoor activities unbearable.

I parked on a side street that was close to the park and immediately saw a fellow hard at work washing his car parked across the street from me. "Goodness," I thought, "he's serious about having a clean car." He did the exterior windows first with a spray bottle and cloth and then used a water bucket and chamois to wash the car itself. Since I had arrived early and didn't have to hurry out of my car, I sat there fascinated by his industriousness. I was particularly intrigued because his car was far from new and had large rust areas on the lower body.

Unable to resist I called out, "I'm impressed. It's great to see someone take such good care of their property." He quickly responded, "Oh, thank you, ma'am. This is my ride. It's all I have so I make I take care of it as best I can." And as if to read my mind he continued, "And yes, for me that means washing it on this hot day. I don't work today so this is my only chance."

[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]