Sandy Supposes....

A Guider Gamble

PROMPT: Tell us about a time you gambled or took a chance on someone/something when the odds were very much not in your favour.

          People who know me have heard me puzzle aloud about gambling. I fail to see the value of it. Why does anyone give up their hard-earned money willingly? What is purchased with this? What is gained? Ads claim it's entertainment, really? Is it like magic? Poof, presto chango, the money has disappeared forever. Are the bright lights, and constant noise mesmerizing? Ah, is it hypnosis? Who chooses to feed coins into a machine known as a 'one-armed bandit'? This is supposed to be fun? I fail to be entertained when I sacrifice coins to a washer, or a vending machine, but at least they both provide a service. Yep, I'm not a risk taker, or am I?

          The risks I take involve reaching out to people. I strike up conversations wherever I am. It's sort of a nothing -ventured-nothing-gained approach. If the odd person rebuffs me so be it, all I've lost is a small block of time. I do realize that not everyone wishes to speak to me. More times than not, I meet a wonderful fellow human being, and I learn something new. This is a gamble with tangible benefits.

         Often I hear of how impersonal and unfriendly big cities appear to be. Throngs of humanity rush along avoiding eye contact, and interaction. Mass transit shuttles bodies as if they were cattle. In one such setting, strangers and I took a chance. We stopped to make a meaningful connection.

Picture a dank dark stairway descending to a subway tunnel. Most of the other travellers have already pushed their way ahead. I notice a large puddle at the foot of the final step, so I jump over it. As I land on my feet, I both hear and see three woman huffing down the steps behind me. I turn and shout out a warning. They all stop, and then hesitate. Without a second thought, I command the women to hand over their purses to me, and I hold out a hand in invitation. Before I could blink, I'm juggling their rather large hand bags, and helping them navigate over the water, one at a time. They giggle and bow. They make comments about chivalry. I quip that I wouldn't make it very far if I tried to abscond with the heavy luggage. They reply that I am a charmingly considerate thief, and it was an unusual angle. Their guard was lowered. We exchange first names, and chat about the city. As we speak, we discover that we have another connection besides being four women attempting to access a subway.

          One lady remarks that my thoughtful gesture was a "Girl Guide thing to do." What a coincidence because I had a long Guiding history. This spurred memories of their childhoods, and of being Brownies, and then Guides.

         My spontaneous gamble resulted in a meeting of kindred spirits. In retrospect, I realize that those women gambled, and took a chance, too. What are the odds we'd be in the same spot in a city the size of Toronto?