Well, since my RAK[i] on
Tuesday evening, I’ve tried to continue my streak of kindness. But, as is often the case with things in
life, the unexpected happened.
On Wednesday evening, I had the opportunity to see Ladysmith
Black Mambazo (LBM) perform in Evanston.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a Grammy winning group out of South Africa,
most famous for their part in Paul Simon’s Graceland
album.
Over the last two years, I’ve actually developed a
friendship and kinship with the group, especially one member, Msizi
Shabalala. So, I was already thrilled to
be seeing them again with a friend of mine.
As we entered the venue, we found our seats. Now, my friend and I came straight from work
and had to battle traffic along the way, so we weren’t able to get anything to
eat. It was already around 7pm, and I knew
I was going to be hungry after the show would end in 3 hours. But, all of a sudden, a RAK happened to me!
There was a man sitting next to us eating a pizza. I made one small remark of “That pizza looks
good!” and he automatically offered me a slice without hesitation. I said “Oh come on, you really don’t need to
do that. Are you serious?” Well, serious
he was. He gave both my friend and I two
slices each. Our stomachs were full and
our hearts were warm, just in time for our souls to be filled with the music of
Mambazo.
After yet another wonderful show, Msizi took my friend and I
back to their dressing room. We got to
hang out with the group for about 30 minutes after the show. It was hard for my friend to hold back the excitement
of hanging out with such dynamic, amazing and successful people. “I remember you all from Sesame Street!” he
would say.
I sat back, unable to hold back my gleaming smile, and
enjoyed the hospitality and community that I once learned while living in South
Africa.
On a day that I was set out to perform kindness for others, I
was the one on the receiving end. Now that’s
my kind of awesome.
For more on the impact Ladysmith Black Mambazo has had on South Africa and the world, visit http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/world/africa/ladysmith-black-mambazo
[i]
Random Act of Kindness. I’ve come to see
others use this acronym since I started talking about it. Kinda cool, right?
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