Rachel - You Know An Angel When You See One

Last February I decided to visit New York for my birthday. While at a restaurant in Little Italy, my boyfriend noticed my address book lying on the floor beside my purse. I was horrified to think I almost lost it because it contains all my contact information as well as policy numbers, account numbers, and pin numbers. Basically, I would be sunk if I lost that book. I quickly scooped it up, put it back into my purse, and forgot about it.

Later that evening, I received a message on my cell phone from a woman named Rachel saying she found an address book with my telephone number written on the front page. She found it on the street near her house. I couldn’t believe it! Could I have lost my address book twice in one night? I checked my purse and found that the book was indeed missing! I phoned her back and thanked her for finding it and calling me. I told her she was an angel, because that book meant so much to me. I offered to meet her the following morning before my flight, but she said she would Fedex the book to my home in Miami. I said I wanted to give her a reward. “No,” she said, “just do something nice for a perfect stranger. That will be my reward.” As promised, I received my address book the following day and I did do something nice for someone else.

As fate would have it I found myself in New York the following week. I called Rachel and asked if we could meet. She said she could but felt bad about looking so terrible. She wasn’t dressed properly and her hair wasn’t done. To make her feel better I told her I’d throw on a pair of sweats and not put on any makeup. We decided to walk toward each other on the south side of 51st Street. “How will I know it’s you?” she asked. “We’ll know each other,” I said. While waiting for the green light on the corner of 3rd Avenue, we saw each other from across the street. We waved and laughed. When the light turned green we met in the middle of the street and hugged. I knew it was her. Sometimes you just know an angel when you see one.