Forrest Gump's lessons

A temperate, Sonoma County day here has held some lessons worth fighting for in this life.  They seem to come when I am just going about my business or trying to have some business somewhere, out there with my energy and my devotion.  Sometimes it comes at the gym of all places.  Several people there have revealed very personal stories to me in our passages at what seems like an impersonal, though very friendly domain. 

This has always happened to me and I am always surprised by the trust others bestow in my direction.  For me, I do feel a bit like Forrest Gump traveling around the globe and ending up with famous people that I am standing next to briefly.  To me, these genuine, honest, sometimes sad stories are the guts of life itself.  Moments where something real comes to life.

And so it was that a woman we shall call Ms. C.C. told me a story of coming to California in 1999 and cleaning houses in order to make some money.  She was in our not-so-golden state without permission and did not speak English.  She and her daughter cleaned houses for some of the wealthy people of Sonoma County and a few never paid her for her work.  They disappeared while she was toiling away in their mansion saying they would be back with her lunch or meet her at day's end for a switch of the key and payment.  They never showed nor returned her calls.  Thankfully, she says, most people were very, very nice to her and that is just like her to say that.

These days she strings together a living with several part-time jobs.  She is one of those people who are always smiling, positive and upbeat.  I have often asked her how she does it.  She says she is "just that way." We talked more about being out of work and hoping for something and it doesn't come along.  We talked about what it is like to try to survive. Ms. C.C. is more than a survivor and it shows every week that I pass her at the gym.  She is a beacon, a human energy hot spot, a house cleaner and a real life hero.

I can imagine Forrest Gump  standing there next to her grinning ear to ear and saying something about Mama and the box of chocolates.   For me, it was a few moments of stories that reflect the tenacity of the human spirit that we all need to hear when we doubt our decisions.  For me, I needed the lesson when I was not looking for it. I won't forget any time soon that I am fortunate to not have to travel to Mexico illegally to look for work and not have any power when the wealthy woman behind the job doesn't pay me.