I came down to Williamsburg, Virginia today to help get my daughter packed up for home at the conclusion of her 2nd year at William & Mary. Williamsburg is a pretty unique town, being such a major national tourist attraction. The town is nearly always filled with tourists, many of whom often look confused and in need of help. That's all the opening I needed.
I hadn't been in town long before I spotted a woman walking around the parking lot where I had left my car, looking like she was lost. When I asked her if I could help, she explained that she was looking for "the place near the College where all the shops were." Knowing the town as well as I do (I went to W&M as well, and am a frequent visitor), I was easily able to assist her in getting to Merchants' Square.
In an earlier blog post, I wrote about how I've become much more patient this year, particularly with senior citizens, as I now seem them as people I can assist, rather than as people who get in my way or slow me down. I noticed today that the same could be said of the tourists. They used to be annoying as they can clog up the town and never seem to know where they're going. Now though, my attention is more on how I can be of assistance instead of how they can be frustrating. As usual, it's all a question of what we choose to focus on.
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