Who’s Your Boo (Radley)?

If you’ve ever read To Kill a Mockingbird, you’re familiar with the mysterious and often misunderstood character, Boo Radley. Long story short – even though Boo is perceived to be scary and dangerous throughout the majority of the book, we learn that he was a nice person all along, and even a great guardian to Jem and Scout, too. 

Whether you’re into literature or not, here’s the thing: I think I met my own Boo Radley just this past week. That’s right, and his name is Alex, from Moscow, a retired engineer that smokes at least half a pack a day, but closes my garage door (that was recently renewed with the help of garage door repair mesa park) when I forget to, and often looks after me and my puppy when we return through the alleyway after our last walk of the night. Mind you – I knew none of this, and was legitimately scared of Alex, until recently. For all I knew, he was the cold old man smoking while on the phone, speaking in a foreign language, that I’d see while I took my dog out late at night, and hoped he wouldn’t notice me. In fact, it was at least a month before I finally put up my hand to acknowledge this man, a nonverbal peace offering amidst fear, as I unlocked the gate to return home.

Why the hell am I sharing this? Well, Alex finally walked over to me after I parked my car the other day, and he said that I forgot to close my garage door earlier that morning, but not to worry – he figured out how to close it for me. Broken English aside, this man’s nonverbal communication showed nothing but genuine compassion. I graciously thanked him and finally learned his name. The conversation ended with me speaking into his phone on Google translator to translate “guardian angel” into Russian, and a smile from him that appreciated the sentiment, but humbly said thank you.

I share this story because it got me thinking about all the kind gestures that occur each and every day, often without noticing, often amidst misinterpreted judgment. And – how cool? How reassuring? To recognize, or at least hold the belief, that both a) we don’t know how kind anyone is until we actually meet them, and b) someone’s out there looking after us.

So, how might you pay it forward today?