On losing faith and shifting gears

In the summer of 2008, I took possession of a new Toyota Prius. It was Pearl White, beautifully streamlined and possessed that lovely new car smell.?

Two weeks on, I was standing in line at a local fruit market.?A woman walked through the entrance and uttered the phrase no vehicle-owner ever wants to hear, “does anyone here have a [......] parked outside?"

My heart in my throat, I ran out to my vehicle.

A large industrial, flatbed truck had backed up and punctured a hole completely through my driver’s side door. An older man stood nearby, offering apologies.?

I swallowed my dismay and murmured, “well, as my mom would have said, at least no one got hurt.”?

Mario introduced himself, told me his business was located two stores down and asked if we could exchange paperwork at his office.?

Jerdan was a Oakville-based company that produced industrial steel staircases and railings. We sat together in his office and he offered me an espresso. I noticed Mario had an Italian accent and mentioned how much my wife and I loved Italy. Then he shared his story:

“Dave, I came to Canada just after the war with my parents. I now have two sons who help me run this company, and I’m glad they were born in Canada. Why? You wouldn’t believe the hatred and bigotry I was exposed to in school by English Canadian kids. Each day they would call me names and I was involved in many fights to protect myself.? Just last year, I finally went back to visit Italy with my wife. We toured Florence and I finally got to see the statue of David. I was examining the details of his hands, astonished how Michelangelo had sculpted the veins so beautifully into the marble. But all I could think was, ‘if Italians could give the world such beautiful art and architecture, why would Canadian children bully an Italian boy so badly?’”

I didn’t know how to respond.?

Mario continued.

“But last year, something happened that changed me. Like you, I had just purchased a beautiful new car. One day I came out into a parking lot and discovered a vehicle had smashed into the side of my car. The driver had left the scene without leaving a note. There was about $2000 in damages. I was so angry. And I lost faith in the goodness of people. Then about 4 months after the accident, I got a call from a lady who lived north of Toronto. She was quite apologetic on the phone and said that she was the person who had hit my car. That she did not have a lot of money, but she would get a loan to help pay for the damages. She kept telling me she was sorry as she knew it was a brand new car. I asked her, ‘why did you take so long to call me?’?

She apologized and told me that she was sorry for waiting two days. I was confused.?

‘But the accident was 4 months ago!’ I told her.

‘No, it this past Tuesday.’

Mario looked at me, “I ran out of my office with my cell phone and examined my car. I couldn’t see any damage. She asked me to look under the handle on the passenger side and by craning my neck at a certain angle, I saw a tiny scratch. The lady kept apologizing on my cell phone and telling me she would pay to get it fixed. That was when I laughed and told her how she had restored my faith in humanity. And that there was no need to send any money.?And about a week later I received a beautiful thank you card in the mail. The lady wrote that she had been growing increasingly bitter about life and that I had restored HER faith in humanity.”

Mario finally accepted an invitation to be a guest at one of my talks. I surprised him by including his story and he received an ovation from the audience.?

Sometimes when I see a brand-new vehicle, I am reminded of someone who backed into my car and impacted my life. I hope you are well, Mario.