Chivalry Is NOT Dead...

Chivalry is a term that dates back to the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur's time. It's the concept of doing what is right, helping those in need, being kind, being thoughtful, and, if needed, rescuing beautiful (or not) damsels from fire-breathing dragons :)  For as long as I have taught, my students in Arthurian Romance or English 9 have been assigned a paper on the topic of chivalry and whether it still exists.

Of course, I KNOW it does. I live with one of the few remaining knights :)

He is a gentleman through and through, and so are my boys.

But sometimes it's nice to see another example--one completely out of the family or my comfort zone (because we all see the best in our own people, right?)

This past week I had the pleasure of participating in the Holiday Bazaar hosted by Andalusia Manor in Andalusia, Alabama. Thanks SalLee Sasser Williams and Tamala Hutcheson for thinking of inviting me! It was my first experience at something like this, and I learned a lot. Mama went with me and the company was so welcome. She helped customers and was my biggest fan :) Many of the customers who came through were employees of the facility, and others who visited brought their family members who reside there to shop or look around. Some people from the general public came in, and everyone was sooooo nice. But then there was one who just stood out...

I was standing behind the table and noticed someone coming in the door. At first, I had to look twice because, as Grace would say, the boy coming in looked just like "Mac Attack." (I think she may have a life-long crush on my former student--probably because he always should such chivalry to her.)

This young man wasn't alone. He was an employee of Andalusia Manor and was pushing one on the residents in a wheel chair. She was much, much older than he and I did not get the impression that they were family at all. I watched him the entire time he was in the room, and I so wished I could show my students this real-life example of chivalry.

He was so kind, so gentle, and so patient. He took his charge to every table. There were tables of jewelry, makeup, children's clothes (me!!), monogrammed bags, cookware, toys, Thirty-one items, Christmas wreaths, and Holiday decorations for sale. It was obvious that few, if any, of these things would be of great interest, but no one would have known that by watching him.

Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor stopped at each table and explained what was being sold. He even held up jewelry to her neck and ears and told her how good it would look on her. They stopped at our rack and he talked about embroidery and how everything was personalized. He took her to the makeup table and talked about lipstick and perfume. At the table selling decorations he talked about stockings and wreaths and Christmas. He was never in a hurry and wasn't the least embarrassed to be doing his job--his calling. 

I wish I had gotten his name so that I could mention it on here, but I didn't :( 
He certainly deserves to be complimented.

Andalusia Manor is blessed to have such wonderful people working with their residents, and the residents are certainly blessed to have such kind, caring individuals as this young man. I can only hope we have raised our boys to be as kind!