Gentlemanly behavior

I had the very pleasure of being in a car accident about a month ago. And I am not being sarcastic in the least. It really was a pleasure to meet the gentleman who hit me. I was at a stop light preparing to turn onto a very busy street in a nearby city when this gentleman hit me from behind. It caused some damage to an already damaged bumper but other than spilling my smoothie and having my Jason's Deli sandwich knocked to the floorboard, I suffered no ill affects. We quickly moved our vehicles to a parking lot adjacent to a fast food restaurant to discuss the matter and decide what to do. The offender turned out to be a gentleman in his eighties (at this point I am sorely tempted to take this opportunity to use the word octogenarian, which I have always wanted to use when writing, but I won't). His old beatup work van had seen better days and his clothing was smattered with paint. He had a carpenter's pencil tucked behind his ear and hands that shook with affirmity that only age can bring. He was charming and polite. Very concerned about me and the condition of my vehicle. After talking for a whle we decided to forgo calling the police and exchanged information; rather, he gave me his information, I did not think to give him mine. He asked me to consider allowing him to pay for my repairs out of pocket instead of applying it to his insurance carrier, which I decided right away that I would do. He assured me that he was "not a tramp, like I look cher", the cajun french accent and words slipping easily into his conversation. He was so very polite and gentlemanly, that I left with a smile on my face, even though I now had a dent and scuffed paint on my bumper.

My husband readily agreed to not turn the accident into the insurance, we decided to take a chance, and sent the car to repaired. When we recieved the estimate (very modest as my husband took the vehicle to one of his accounts, and we decided to just have the bumper repainted instead of replacing it.) I called Mr. Lewis with the information. He was concerned because he had not heard from me in a few days and did not get my name and phone number. Again, such a sweet and adorable character that we spent quite a while on the phone chatting about this and that.

Upon having the van repaired, I placed a second call to tell him the final total, and he assured me he would send a check, which did arrive very promptly. Again, we chatted for a while on the phone and I hung up smiling and thinking that there is something missing in the generations between he and I. Some semblance of chivalry that this man presented towards me.

The check arrived in the mail with a note, written in a shaky script, that read:



Your kindness and graciousnees are exceeded only by your beauty.


It makes me smile to think of even now, a few weeks later. It was such an honor to meet this man who had such kindness and poise. A true gentleman, who I am glad I had the pleasure of crossing paths with. I will keep the note to remember the way I want to raise my son. And I will smile everytime I read it, as I recall the gentleman that represents a lifestyle our culture has seemed to eskew.