Ok, here is one.. :)

This past week I went to Boston on business. It was a last minute trip and my schedule had me in Boston for one day and NYC the next. The night before my trip to NYC I took a look at my options and decided that the first bus from Boston to NYC would work out well. It was late but I wasn?t sleepy. As I watched Leno I thought to myself that if I normally stay up until midnight on the west coast that has me checking out @ 3 on the east. I looked at the bed and it was huge?6 down pillows?! I figured that I would have no problem falling asleep early on a machine built so well for sleeping. But alas, somehow the night drew on and sure enough I came close to 3 before falling asleep. Needless to say, the next morning I woke up late. The snooze button worked all too well and was easy to find a couple times before opening my eyes to look at the time. I looked at the pillows again with distrust; no bed meant for business travelers has any business with 6 pillows.

I checked the clock; just enough time to catch the bus if I take a quick shower and skip breakfast. I thought to myself that I?ve been in this situation enough times before to make it flow. Running on empty I raced for the shuttle bus to the subway station. Everything was going according to plan; every connection met me like a song. On my way to the buses from the red line I saw a Somalian / South African man selling fruit. In a hurry and unsure of whether I would find anything else on my way to the buses I seized the opportunity to pick out 3 pieces of fruit and a bottle of water. The man noticed my anxiousness and quickly bagged the fruit for me. Was this what a New York minute felt like? As he was bagging the fruit I noticed he was wearing a kufi so I asked him if he was muslim. His face lit up when he informed me that he was and gave me a warm Salam. I quickly said W?Salam back to him and started darting for the stairs towards the bus station. As I started to walk away he yelled, "wait!" and ran to me at the foothill of the stairs. My mind raced through a quick check; did I drop something or forget to pay him? He quickly approached me and gave me 2 more pieces of fruit and wished me a safe trip. His simple act of kindness really struck me and had me at a pause. As I slowly started walking up the stairs again I thought of ways to repay his kindness and it has led to this short article. I intend to tell this story every time I talk about my recent trip to Boston. So, if you're ever in south station in Boston please stop by this brother?s stand. Inshallah, it will lead to more business for this gentleman. Isn't kindness a powerful business tool?