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Tuesday, January 8th, 20078 Nipigon - Red Rock Gazette Page 5 Basic Black The year was 1967. The setting: a small town in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. I was a young Canadian hitchhiker and I was broke. Very. I had a couple of travelers’ cheques in my jeans but the villagers wouldn’t know a traveler’s cheque from a hockey puck and the Fast of Ramadan was on. The only bank in town had been closed for three days and looked to stay shut for at least another twenty-four hours. I was down to my last Moroccan dirham, which meant I didn’t have enough cash to make a phone call, much less order a proper meal. Oh yeah...I was also hungry. Very. I tracked down the cheapest, nastiest hole-in-the-wall cafe I could find, ascertained that I had just enough money for a bowl of the soup of the day, then joined a chain of ragged, slightly sinister-looking Arabs, all clad in djellabahs. I arrived at the soup cauldron at exactly the same moment as another customer, a hooded Moroccan of whose face all I could see was a pair of glowering eyes over a hawk nose over a bushy moustache. Unaccountably (for I was very hungry and not given to excessive displays of politeness) I gestured for him to go ahead of me. Without a word of thanks or acknowledgement he swept in front of Making a Difference The Infidel, got his bowl of soup, paid and disappeared out the door. After I was served I reached into my pocket to pay with my last bit of cash. The server waved me off. “C’est bon,” he said. My soup had been paid for. By the surly, uncommunicative, sinister-looking Moroccan stranger who I never saw again. It was only a passing gesture worth maybe fifteen or twenty cents, but I haven’t forgotten it in forty years. I like to think that random act of kindness mellowed me some, perhaps even made me a bit less of a jerk than I might have turned out to be. Random acts of kindness are like that - sort of spiritual Canada Savings Bonds that pay off premiums, unexpected and surprisingly rich, ‘way down the road. Let’s face it: you and I personally are not going to solve global warming, eradicate AIDS, or set up a peace dove shuttle service between Israel and Palestine. The world is full of huge, intractable problems that bedevil far finer minds than ours. But it is also speckled with moments, openings and opportunities to make some small improvement in someone else’s life. Take the Coffee Angel. This is a woman, a divorced mother of two, who lives in Toronto and likes her coffee double-double with milk, not cream. That is all we know about her. That is about as much as we will ever know. But one day, should you happen to be in a Tim Hortons Drive-Thru, you might cruise up to the take out window, pick up your order, and be told by the Tim Horton’s cashier “That’s okay, it’s been paid for.” By the Coffee Angel. It’s what she does. She drives up to the take-out window, places her order for a double-double with milk, motions with her head to the vehicle behind her and tells the cashier quietly “I’ll pay for whatever they’re having too.” And she does. Whether it’s just coffee, a sandwich, a bowl of soup or all three. Then she drives away. She repeats the exercise at irregular intervals at Tim Hortons Drive-Thrus throughout the city. An enterprising Globe and Mail reporter tracked her down and asked her why. “Because it feels so good,” she says, “to do something nice for someone else.” Does she think it makes a difference? “Hopefully it shocks them,” she says. “Hopefully it injects some positive energy into their day so they can feel better about themselves. I know my kids and I sure do.” Not surprisingly, they love her at Tim Hortons. “She brightens all our days,” says one employee. “Sometimes she even starts a chain reaction, with as many as five cars buying in succession for all the people behind them.” Does she make a difference? Reminds me of the story of the cynic who came across a simple soul, wandering along the seashore, throwing starfish stranded by the outgoing tide back into the water. The cynic snorted. Oil slicks, sewage outfalls, unchecked pollution from a thousand different sources and here is one man on one beach in the whole world, saving starfish one at a time. Mushrooms with Mediterranean Tuna Dip (NC) An Italian inspired quick and easy dip. Prep time: 10 min 1cup packed Italian parsley leaves 1 cup light mayonnaise 1 can (170 g) flaked or chunk light tuna, (packed in water), drained 3 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp drained capers 5 anchovies, chopped (or 2 tsp anchovy paste) 1 clove garlic 1 lb fresh mushrooms (thickly sliced, small whole or halved large) Garnish: fresh parsley, minced In a food processor combine parsley, mayonnaise, tuna, lemon juice, capers, anchovies and garlic: process until smooth. Transfer to serving dish, garnish with parsley, put in fridge until serving. Place on tray or in a basket and surround with mushrooms for dipping. Makes 1 3/4 cups Classified Order Form Mail Cheque or Money Order to: The Nipigon-Red Rock Gazette P.O.BOX 1057 Nipigon, Ontario POT 2JO NAME ADDRESS PHONE 1 WEEK.......$ 6.96 2 WEEKS........$11.77 3 WEEKS ....$15.52 4 WEEKS........$18.19 (5th week Free with 4 weeks) Prices include 7% GST You are allowed 25 words in your ad(s). If you are over 25 words, add 20 cents per additional word PER WEEK. (Ads must be prepaid and are not refundable). Please Print Category:_______________________ Advertisement: Nipigon Public Library Box 728,25 3rd St., Nipigon, ON, POT 2J0 Phone/fax: 807-887-3142 6-moil: niplib@nujconx.n6t http://www.nwconx.net/~niplib/nnpl.html Sunday - closed Monday - closed Tuesday -1:30 pm - 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Wednesday -1:30 pm - 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Thursday - 9:00 am -1:00 pm and 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm friday -1:30 pm - 5:30 pm Saturday-10:00 am-1:00 pm SUBSCRIPTION FORM Mail your Cheque or Money Order to: The Nipigon Red Rock Gazette P.O Box 1057 38 Front Street Nipigon, ON POT 2J0 Name: Address: Phone Number: Prices for One Year Subscription Local $39.90 Senior (65+) $29.40 Out of Town $54.60 USA $7035 Prices Include gst