Thank you for sharing this Elissa!! And if anyone wants to connect over my story, you can find me on Facebook at Nomi Eve or by email at nomieve@gmail.com. I’m so grateful to you Elissa for helping to spread this story of an act of moral beauty that has shaped my life. If you are reading this and have a platform by which to share my essay, please do!!!! I really want to find the young woman who saved me that day and taught me, oh, so many things about love and life, in the very brief time we were together.
Ms. Eve, as I am reflecting on your story, I am reminded of two things. First, I know that Elissa is the kind of person who would drop everything to help a child in a similar circumstance. Not everyone would. Some people think it's not their business or someone else will take care of it. Not me. Not Elissa.
When I was in Ireland in 2002, I had three distinct spiritual experiences of sorts, and it turned out in the subsequent year or two that I would be going through major transition. One of the experiences was in Dublin on Grafton Street (pedestrian walkway) that was crowded with tourists as it usually is. I was with my then-partner and her mom. I saw a woman crying and calling out a name. She was from an Arabic-speaking middle Eastern country. I asked her what was wrong. She did not speak any English but she showed me a picture of her small son and put her hand down to show how tall he was. I think people were going about their business because they could not understand her. In retrospect, they were not "listening" properly. I realized her little boy was lost and she was frantic. I went over to my partner and mom and said we must act fast to help. They could not understand why I was so involved, and I had no time for foolishness, so I told them to go back to the hotel and I would meet them there.
I asked the woman to show me what direction she came from. We spoke in body language. Then I held her shoulders and told her to stay put while I retraced the steps to find her boy. He was not that far away--maybe 150 feet--but it seemed far because of the wall to wall throngs of people. What I saw was an Irish garda (police officer) standing with a little boy who was crying. I told the police officer I knew where his mom was, and the officer was kindly protective of the boy, so he came, too, as I rushed them through the crowds. When we saw the mom and son reunite, we both got misty-eyed. She cried on my shoulder, too, with gratitude.
This is a very short version of your story in a sense. It was all of 10-12 minutes. The garda was going to take the boy to the station in just a few more minutes, so my instinct to simply act quickly was spot on. I don't take credit for it. I felt blessed to be someone who helped. I felt I was guided to do this.
Ms. Eve, the woman who potentially saved you from disaster likely feels the same way. She feels plenty of gratitude knowing she was of service in the best way. I will never see the woman in Dublin again, yet I will never forget her or her son and she likely remembers me, too.
If you cannot physically find your hero, well, you have been with her all of these years anyway.
Thank you for sharing this Elissa!! And if anyone wants to connect over my story, you can find me on Facebook at Nomi Eve or by email at nomieve@gmail.com. I’m so grateful to you Elissa for helping to spread this story of an act of moral beauty that has shaped my life. If you are reading this and have a platform by which to share my essay, please do!!!! I really want to find the young woman who saved me that day and taught me, oh, so many things about love and life, in the very brief time we were together.
WOW. Just tears.
Ms. Eve, as I am reflecting on your story, I am reminded of two things. First, I know that Elissa is the kind of person who would drop everything to help a child in a similar circumstance. Not everyone would. Some people think it's not their business or someone else will take care of it. Not me. Not Elissa.
When I was in Ireland in 2002, I had three distinct spiritual experiences of sorts, and it turned out in the subsequent year or two that I would be going through major transition. One of the experiences was in Dublin on Grafton Street (pedestrian walkway) that was crowded with tourists as it usually is. I was with my then-partner and her mom. I saw a woman crying and calling out a name. She was from an Arabic-speaking middle Eastern country. I asked her what was wrong. She did not speak any English but she showed me a picture of her small son and put her hand down to show how tall he was. I think people were going about their business because they could not understand her. In retrospect, they were not "listening" properly. I realized her little boy was lost and she was frantic. I went over to my partner and mom and said we must act fast to help. They could not understand why I was so involved, and I had no time for foolishness, so I told them to go back to the hotel and I would meet them there.
I asked the woman to show me what direction she came from. We spoke in body language. Then I held her shoulders and told her to stay put while I retraced the steps to find her boy. He was not that far away--maybe 150 feet--but it seemed far because of the wall to wall throngs of people. What I saw was an Irish garda (police officer) standing with a little boy who was crying. I told the police officer I knew where his mom was, and the officer was kindly protective of the boy, so he came, too, as I rushed them through the crowds. When we saw the mom and son reunite, we both got misty-eyed. She cried on my shoulder, too, with gratitude.
This is a very short version of your story in a sense. It was all of 10-12 minutes. The garda was going to take the boy to the station in just a few more minutes, so my instinct to simply act quickly was spot on. I don't take credit for it. I felt blessed to be someone who helped. I felt I was guided to do this.
Ms. Eve, the woman who potentially saved you from disaster likely feels the same way. She feels plenty of gratitude knowing she was of service in the best way. I will never see the woman in Dublin again, yet I will never forget her or her son and she likely remembers me, too.
If you cannot physically find your hero, well, you have been with her all of these years anyway.
Shabbat Shalom.
Sobbing. 😭
I hope when you find her you will share all about your joyful reunion!
Such an amazing story. I hope that this incredibly kind woman is found!