User Story

By Liane Little

Edmonton is a great number of things.

It's a growing city with the crime rate to match. It's a city well-known for bad driving, bad customer service and the fact that the public transit system is struggling to catch up with population growth. It's a city that is sometimes dirty, sometimes rude, and sometimes harsh.

All of these things overshadow what Edmonton really is. It's full of enthusiasm and life. It's positively brimming with one more absolutely essential item. It is the most critical thing a city could have. It's not an excellent transit system or perfect roads; what we have, in vast abundance, is kindness and compassion.

The kindness and compassion I speak of is not the kind where thousands are donated to the museum or hospital, although we do have that, too. What I see doesn't hit you right over the head, forcing you to notice it. Sometimes it might be hidden and you'll need to look really hard to see it, but it's there. Once you see it, you keep noticing it more and more.

What I see is a gentleman who stopped at Tim Horton's on his way home and picked up a Take 10 for his unemployed neighbours despite the problems and concerns he might have.

I see a scary-looking punk kid with his MP3 player playing so loud it's irritating the bus driver. But the kids get up and change seats, without being asked, so that a young woman, so pregnant that her water might break any second, can sit down.

I see people who worry about how they're going to pay rent this month scrape together a few bucks to buy Girl Guide cookies or donate to the Stollery or buy a poppy for Rememberence Day.

I see a boss who left work and drove a little out of his way to help his employee change a flat tire.

I see a store cashier treat customers like family to the point where she worries when she doesn't see a regular for a while.

I see random strangers stop and listen when someone’s venting, buy someone’s meal when it looks like they've had a hard day, open a bottle for someone who had broken their fingers and couldn't do it themselves.

I see people every year participate in the Stuff-a-Bus campaign by donating food for the needy, save bottles for months in order to give them to the Scouts or a neighbourhood school or hockey team, or simply wait an extra minute to hold a door open for someone at the mall because their arms are full.

It's like a small child who offers her most prized possession, her beloved teddy bear, to an upset adult. It's something that may seem like nothing but, to that adult, it could mean the world. It could be the one time they'll smile for the entire day or even week. That bear doesn't fix the problem, but the act of pure kindness, compassion and innocence reminds you of the good in people.

These are only a few of the things I've seen living here. As a small-town transplant, it's easy to recognize what Edmonton is at heart. It is a city, yes, but it is a city that is a small town at heart. We are willing to step up and help others when it's needed, despite our own problems. We band together during the hard times and celebrate together like there's no tomorrow when the Oilers win a game.

It's all of the small things, the good people,that make Edmonton what it is.