BUFFALO — This is my Christmas story.
I arrived in Buffalo a couple of days before Christmas to visit my Aunt Betty. She is 90, and legally blind.
When I saw her, she mentioned that the battery had died on her watch. It’s a special watch that speaks the time every time she presses it.
I told her I would try and find a jeweler who could replace the battery. The holiday shopping rush was in full bumper to bumper glory as I searched for a jeweler.
I finally found one in Amherst, N.Y. Jared The Galleria of Jewelry was packed with customers. The sales staff was working hard, but I was able to speak to a sales woman.”
Despite the hustle-bustle of the season, she was kind and offered to help.
“We do replace watch batteries,” she said. “Let me see what I can do.” I saw her walk over to a male employee and two of them discussed the watch.
“Have a seat,” she said. “We’ll fix the watch.”
About 15 minutes later, she returned.
“I’ve got a deal for you,” she said. I started to worry. Would she try and sell me and expensive diamond ring?
“Now here’s the deal,” she said, with a smile. “This year, we’re selling stuffed toys for charity. If you buy a toy, we’ll just charge you for it, and not the battery. And you can keep the watch.”
The price was the same as the watch repair, in fact a dollar cheaper
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
“We want to do something nice for your aunt. Do you want to give her the toy?”
“No, I’ll just give it to charity,” I replied.
She then took me over to a cardboard bin, near the middle of the store. It was filled with the stuffed toys. On top of the bin was a sign that read: “Women’s and Children’s Hospital.”
Years ago, my daughter, Heather, was taken to Children’s Hospital minutes after her birth. She was born premature, weighing barely 2 pounds.
Heather’s life was touch and go for weeks. She spent the first few months of her life in Children’s Hospital.
She not only survived but grew up healthy and successful.
I had not thought about her early struggle for life in years. It all seemed so long ago in another place and time.
Sometimes we all forget what really matters and the people who touched our lives in remarkable ways.
Christmas is a time to remember those life-changing events and the people who cared enough to help strangers – like a premature baby or a 90-year old blind woman.
I paid the sales clerk and dropped the stuffed toy into the bin. In a strange, wonderful way, I felt connected to my past and present. It was about more than a watch or a toy. It was about the people at Jared and at Children’s Hospital reaffirming the meaning of Christmas.
Villager Tony Violanti is a correspondent for Villages-News.com
