Naomi Rothschild
1920-2014
I had scanned this a while ago, meaning to share it, but then I forgot. I found it today, and thought that it deserved a little sharing.
Last June, as you may know, Alison and I got married at the W Hotel in New York City. The family stayed over in the hotel that night, and we met for breakfast the next morning. Over breakfast, my mother Naomi told us that late that night, there had been a loud altercation in the hallway, to which security had been called.
What I probably would have done had I been on that floor, would have been to call security, insist that they sort it out quickly, and stayed safely in my room. What my 91 year old mother did was to go out into the hallway in her bathrobe to see if she could help!
And help she did - she found a young woman sobbing and alone in the hall. Mom let her come into her room, invited her to put her head on her shoulder and cry. She told this girl that she was a mother and a grandmother, and that she was used to tears. I don't know exactly what they spoke about, but apparently whatever she said made the girl feel a lot better by the time she left. A few hours later, when my mother went down to breakfast, she found this card slipped under her door. The young woman never learned my mom's name, so she addressed it to "the sweetest stranger".
Here's to you, mom! There aren't many people out there who will go out of their way to make the world a better place. I'm proud that my mother is one of them...
Last June, as you may know, Alison and I got married at the W Hotel in New York City. The family stayed over in the hotel that night, and we met for breakfast the next morning. Over breakfast, my mother Naomi told us that late that night, there had been a loud altercation in the hallway, to which security had been called.
What I probably would have done had I been on that floor, would have been to call security, insist that they sort it out quickly, and stayed safely in my room. What my 91 year old mother did was to go out into the hallway in her bathrobe to see if she could help!
And help she did - she found a young woman sobbing and alone in the hall. Mom let her come into her room, invited her to put her head on her shoulder and cry. She told this girl that she was a mother and a grandmother, and that she was used to tears. I don't know exactly what they spoke about, but apparently whatever she said made the girl feel a lot better by the time she left. A few hours later, when my mother went down to breakfast, she found this card slipped under her door. The young woman never learned my mom's name, so she addressed it to "the sweetest stranger".
Here's to you, mom! There aren't many people out there who will go out of their way to make the world a better place. I'm proud that my mother is one of them...
