What a girl has to do to get a hug and a kiss in these parts nowadays...

We have had a few days of torrential downpours and Thursday morning was one of those days. I was late leaving the home as N, my 9 year old daughter, had left something absolutely crucial behind and I had to turn around as the time ticked on and traffic became heavier.

My windscreen wipers were labouring heavily and still, it was hard to see. The robots ( traffic lights) changed inconveniently and the car in front of me stopped, something I wasn't anticipating. Usually we not so law abiding South African drivers, gun an orange light. Not this polite white sedan.

I braked, I was going a little too fast, and the car aquaplaned in slow motion right into the back of the nice white polite sedan, who was after all, just following the law. I had tried to miss him, but impact was unavoidable. I had seen his vehicle move forward with the impact. Time to get out.

A nicely dressed, pleasant looking old man got out, his head, a mass of tidy white hair.

I got out the mother ship. " We come in peace," should have been my greeting. I started apologizing as my feet hit the tar. "I am so sorry."

"He said, I just stopped at a red robot...and you, I interrupted him with yet another apology.

"We will have to take down each others details he said, "

"You are absolutely right, " I said.

Then we looked ...not a single dent, bump,scratch or sign that I had rear ended this fellow. Our eyes scrutinized every inch of our vehicles. NADA! It had just been a case of my bumper kissing his,very lightly...

I was apologizing again, telling him I had had an awful morning. He told me he had had the same.

"Look at my red eyes," he said. I looked they were blood shot. Poor guy. Had he been crying all morning, had he just lost his wife?

So he gave me a hug, and said, "Let's get back in our cars, "

and so we did.

I can't forget his kindness, he will forever be etched in my mind. I am eternally grateful we still have such wonderful people left in this world. Aren't you?