An interesting thing happened yesterday that really got me thinking about what it means to live here in the Miramichi Region — about what it means to be a Miramichier.
In the newspaper sometimes you see letters from tourists overwhelmed by gratitude toward Miramichiers who have gone above and beyond to help them through a crises.
I think it’s easy to dismiss those letters as something to do with strangers and not to do with us. It’s sometimes easy to forget about the Miramichiers who go above and beyond to help other Miramichiers.
Yesterday, I had an encounter with a woman on a mission. As best as I can recall, it went something like this:
Ring. Ring. Ring.
“Hello.”
“Hi, may I please speak with Kellie?”
“Speaking.”
“Hi Kellie. I’m over here in Red Bank and I just found a bankcard in the parking lot with your name on it. I was wondering if you lost yours.”
“Hmmm. No, it’s definitely not mine.”
“Oh. Well, do you by chance know of any other people with your name?”
“There is another one. We get the wrong mail sometimes. She’s married to —“
“I was already talking to her. She was the one who told me to call you. It’s not hers either.”
“Oh. Well, I can’t think of anyone else. Sorry.”
“I’ll call the bank then. Thanks. I just thought I might be able to track down the owner. I figure she might be pretty upset about losing her card.”
“Yes, you’re probably right.”
“Okay then, thanks, bye.”
“Bye.”
Isn’t it great that we live in the sort of community where some people still care enough to go out of their way like that for someone they’ve never met before? It’s just a couple of telephone calls, right? No big deal. But consider the alternatives.
She could have left the card on the ground and walked away without getting involved at all. “Let somebody else do something about that, I don’t have time.”
Or she could have picked it up, taken it inside and passed it onto a clerk. “Hey, I found this in your parking lot. Somebody must have lost it and might come looking for it.”
Or she could have gone straight to the bank and turned it in. “I found this card in a parking lot in Red Bank. Somebody’s probably looking for it.”
But her first instinct was to make a few phone calls and find the card-owner on her own because she knew how upset she would feel if she lost her card and she didn’t want anyone else to feel like that.
I think it’s that kind of thinking and genuine concern for others that helps to make the Miramichi Region such a great area to live.
Giv’er Miramichi is about “What’s up, what’s new, what’s happening”. We are focused on building people up, supporting one another and celebrating our successes.