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Oh, your time keeps going on… And the world is last to follow

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/us/candice-payne-homeless-chicago.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

As soon as I read about Candice Payne’s selfless act of kindness, I knew it was the story I wanted to blog about. The heart of this story is what I find the rigorous work of the study of narratives to relinquish in. So many stories are filled with ulterior motives, and sometimes it’s hard to find a story that embraces compassion in ways that our society needs to recognize. I think I’m especially struck by this story because I was just in Chicago over Christmas. Surprisingly, while I was there, the temperatures remained fairly similar to those in Texas. The weather is like this unopposable force that just chooses to strike whenever it deems fit. However, Candice Payne became a protagonist against negative 25 degree weather. She used her credit card to pay for rooms for homeless people to escape the unbearable conditions. Payne clearly isn’t showboating or asking for attention, in fact, she repeatedly implies that this is what any decent human being should be doing to help people. And, she’s right. This nonchalant attitude about doing what is right is what drives the narrative. Our readings for Narrative Theory this week revolve around the themes of timing and space, and how these concepts structure narrative. Timing and setting are integral parts of this very real story. Winter isn’t thought of as dreary and dark in literature, this is a reality that is a direct consequence of the season. Payne encountered all of these characters in her story that she knew needed help. Two of the women that Payne helped were pregnant, and just the idea that the aftermath is new life seems so obnoxiously cliche, but it’s true. Most narratives that move bodies to action involve working through darkness because of the hope of what is to come. The New York times quotes Payne who says: “‘I am a regular person...It all sounded like a rich person did this, but I’m just a little black girl from the South Side. I thought it was unattainable, but after seeing this and seeing people from all around the world, that just tells me that it’s not that unattainable. We can all do this together.’” Payne’s introspection is a narrative all its own. But, these words also suggest that one kind act can spark more. I’m sorry for being cheesy, but Chicago just has the vibrancy that not all cities have and to see it in action is something special. We might want to ask what we can do for our cities, but we know the answers. Every act that we think is small is marking on another person’s narrative in a way that we might not think twice about, but I guarantee that those meaningful words or small gestures meant more to those people than you realize. Narratives are a chain reaction.

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