Tonight took an emotional turn. As I was walking down the street, a sweet old man in his 80's tripped, fell, & hit his head pretty hard. He couldn't sit up, was sobbing, & was in a lot of pain. We called the ambulance THREE TIMES before they arrived 45 minutes later. 6 women, including me, stayed with him the whole time.
He started panicking 10 minutes in, so I took off my coat, wrapped him in it, held his hand & his head, then sang to him. He talked about how much he loved watching 'Cinderella' & 'The Sound of Music' in the 60's while living in Puerto Rico, so I sang him those songs. Many people stopped & checked in.
When the EMTs finally arrived & packed him into the ambulance, Ramone cried, kissed my hands, & thanked me for being his angel. As they drove away, we all hugged each other & cried, before we parted.
There are so many things we can't control in this world...but we each used our separate gifts to come together and take care of this person in need. It didn't cost us anything...except time & maybe being a bit cold for a while. It was a beautiful New York moment & reminded me there’s still good in humanity. Now that my adrenaline is wearing off, I'm gonna try to enjoy the Super Bowl & thaw out. Have a good night, & be safe, friends!
-Courtney Leigh Halford, NYC