My husband had many jobs, including chimney sweep, and he met a lot of people. I, the sealer, am the opposite of him.
One day in late autumn last year, it was already Advent, and we were sitting around our coffees, making small talk. A word was spoken, bringing back memories of acquaintances and events we shared, as well as experiences known and shared by only one of us. We wondered how young people behave today and wondered whether, in these strange times, there is still any compassion for fellow human beings, or even whether this feeling still exists among young people, given all that we hear about them in the media. So my husband had a flashback to an incident and he started to tell me about it:
"I know a young boy called Rok. He is a teenager and a student who goes to a comprehensive high school. As much as time allows, he likes to help on a small farm in a village in Dolenjska. He is a kind boy with his heart and his head in the right place. Whenever I meet him, I am happy to chat with him. A few weeks ago I met him by chance in Novo mesto at McDonald's. You know, where you drive up, place your order and pick up what you ordered in the car..."
"Yes, of course I do. McDonald's Drive, don't you," I interrupted him, as I always do (my trait of always looking for confirmation that I understand something, or to add something to our conversation, gets on my husband's nerves).
"Yes, well. Well, after I picked up my order, I parked right nearby to eat. Since I don't want the smell of food in my car, I kept the window open. Then I see a car parked next to me on my right.
This guy gets out of the passenger side; Rok. He is holding a McDonald's French fry in their signature packaging. He takes a few steps back towards the McDonald's, talks to someone and offers him a fry. Then I see a man; a homeless man, or someone in great need, judging by his poor and torn clothes, and in his hands are the fries that this young acquaintance was holding only a second before. I can also see how eagerly the stranger started to eat those fries, but turned away hastily so that no one would see him eating.
The next moment I see Roke getting back into his father's car and at the same time I hear my father ask him, 'Yeah, why did you give him those fries, wouldn't he rather eat them himself?' there was a bit of a reproachful tone in my father's voice. 'Oh come on, calm down, Dad,' the boy said conciliatorily. ,He must have been hungry. It doesn't matter if he's a clogger or a Jani. He is human, he has to eat, and you see that he doesn't. Why else would you stop outside McDonald's? Besides, I won't miss it, and you can see I love to eat,' he smiled, disarming his father with a joke and a kindness.
At that moment, he saw me, smiled and waved his hand. I thanked him and started the engine, as I had already eaten my meal. You know, it made me feel quite warm. If half of the young people are like this Rok, we really don't have to worry about the future and our youth," my husband concluded with satisfaction. I nodded. It's true, let's trust our young people and they will surprise us in a very positive way.
Franja Jorga Arnšek, 31 Mar 2025
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