Last night marked the start of my seventh Toronto International Film Festival (a.k.a. TIFF) experience. For all its drawbacks (and trust me, there are many) the real film fans keep coming back year after year, price hike after price hike, because simply put, we love movies and the festival gives us what we want: world premieres, foreign gems, thought-provoking documentaries, and as was the case last night at Midnight Madness, kick-ass action films where Samuel L. Jackson is the POTUS. 'Nuff said.
Last night, however, had the potential for some major suckage. It did not simply rain - it poured for several hours. For the roughly two hours I was standing outside the Ryerson theatre the deluge did not relent - a cruel joke on the TIFF faithful by the weather gods. But note that I said it "had the potential." As I sat cowering under a very damp jean jacket debating with one of the TIFF volunteers whether or not to just bite the bullet and go home, a lovely woman asked me if I wanted to use her umbrella. She had a rain poncho in her purse and said she could use it instead. For the next 90 minutes or so I was able to mitigate the damage and engage in some lovely conversation with J and her friend, A.
Next I was going to type" faith in humanity restored" but that's a lie. This is exactly the type of generosity I've come to expect from the people of Toronto, and it's the kind of thing that's happened to me repeatedly since my return.
So let's get this straight: on the whole, Torontonians are really amazing people who step up at the worst of times to help each other out. We're not perfect, but we do really damn good things when given the opportunity.
I realize this flies in the face a little of the whole customer service post that precedes this one, and that's ok. Random acts of kindness really isn't in the same category imho.
After the movie was over, I grabbed a cab to get back to my car. It was still raining and I was really stiff so it took me a minute to climb into the back seat. I asked the driver if he would take a credit card? "Yes," he beamed. I couldn't tell why he was so delighted by my question, but once I was seated and the cab was in motion he launched in:
"You were polite to ask me if I would take charge card. The woman before you threw it at me. I tell her "I don't take" because I want to teach her lesson. You are nice woman."
We chatted a little more and I told him about the kind gesture of J lending me her umbrella. I learned he was an immigrant from Pakistan - a Muslim who had come to Toronto nine years ago.
"I go to JFK and they treat me like garbage... like I am a terrorist... like every Muslim is a terrorist. I come to Toronto and you know what they say? They say 'Welcome to Canada' and 'Welcome to Toronto'. This is my home. This girl who gives you an umbrella is nice. I love my home."
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