Read This Story about a Kind Stranger

Email Print posted by rbruck 10/05/2008 07:41:53 PM EST

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20 years ago there was a newlywed at the Miami airport trying to board an airplane to Canada.  Her husband had gone ahead of her and she was travelling to join him.  When she got to the counter, she found that her luggage was overweight and it would cost her $103 to bring her luggage.  The problem was, that she did not have any money at all, didn't expect to have to pay.  She was faced with the unpleasant choice of having to start her new life with her husband and leave her worldly posessions behind.

A kind man behind her said that he would pay for her luggage ticket.  The stranger paid the fee and wrote his name and address on a piece of paper so she could pay him back when she could.

The name he wrote on that piece of paper was Barack Obama.

This happened on November 2, 1988.  Obama had just completed his job as a low paid community organizer, and had started school at Harvard Law.  $103 was a lot of money back then, especially for a student.

When we hear the barrage of smears and attacks that will happen the next 30 days, lets try to remember that kind stranger who helped a young bride join her husband 20 years ago.

This story was published today in a Norweigan newspaper.  Here is a link.  I am sorry about the poor Google translation.

Article - Obama "Rescued" Mary - Paid Trip to Ireland

< MY HOLIDAY WITH JOHN McCAIN | Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran >
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Read This Story about a Kind Stranger | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
if the elections about character (none / 0)
he's got my vote.

by hazmat on 10/05/2008 08:15:41 PM EST

Awwwww! (none / 0)
So sweet:)

y

by chrisandyasemin on 10/05/2008 08:37:08 PM EST

I translated it.... Bit tired tho (none / 1)
ÅSGARDSTRAND (VG) Mary had just married and was ready to move to Norway, but she
was stopped at the airport because she didn't have enough money for the trip.
That's when Barack Obama came by and paid her fee.

Mary Menth Andersen was 31 years old at the time and had just married the Norwegian
Dag Andersen. She was looking forward to starting a new life in Åsgardstrand in
Vestfold with him. But first she had to get all her belongings to Norway.
The date was Nov 2 1998.

At the airport in Miami it was business as usual with long lines in the check-in
terminal. When it finally was her turn and she put her luggage on the conveyor belt
she got the message that would tear away her happiness from under her.

-You have to pay $103 in excess luggage fee if you want to bring both your suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter told her.

Mary didn't have any money. Her husband had travelled to Norway ahead of her, and
Mary didn't have anyone she could call.

-I got filled with despair and tried to think what I could possibly remove from the
bags. But they were filled with all the stuff I loved the most.


Kind and friendly

Even though she explained her situation to the airline employee, he didn't show any sign of compassion.

-I started to cry, the tears poured down her face and she didn't know what to do.

Then I heard a mild and kind voice behind me say: "I'll pay her fee."

Mary turned around and there was a tall, dark man she had never seen before.

-He had a mild, friendly voice that was still firm. The first thing I thought was, who is this man?

This happened 20 years ago, but Mary can still remember the authority the man radiated.

-He was handsome and fashionable with brown leather shoes, an open cotton shirt and khakis, Mary tells us.

She was happy to get both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that she would pay him back. The man wrote down his name and address on a piece of paper and gave it to her. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally went towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

The piece of paper read, "Barack Obama" and his address in Kansas, which is the
state which his mother originates from. Mary kept it in her wallet for a number of
years before she threw it away.

She paid back the $103 to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At the time
Obama had just finished his job as a low-paid environmental worker in Chicago,
and was studying law at Harvard.

In spring 2006 Marys parents heard that Obama was considering running for president, but was still undecided. So they wrote him a letter where they told him they would have their vote. At the same time they thanked him for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.

In a letter to Marys parents dated May 4 2006 and stamped "United States Senate, Washington DC" Barack Obama wrote:

"I want to thank you for writing so nicely about me and for reminding me about the incident at the airport in Miami. I'm glad I was able to help that time, and I'm happy to hear that your daughter is doing well in Norway. Please send her my regards. Sincerely yours, Barack Obama, United States Senator."

The parents sent the letter to Mary.

Incredible

This week VG met her and her husband at the cafeteria she runs with her friend Lisbet Tollefsrud in Åsgardsstrand.

-It's amazing to think that the man who helped me 20 years ago now is likely to become the next president of the United States, Mary says ecstatically.

She has already voted for Obama. Recently she donated $100 to his campaign.

She often tells the story from the airport in Miami, when racial questions pop up and when the conversation is about the election.

-I really hope Americans have the common sense to understand that Obama means change, Mary says.


by Scandinavian Chef on 10/05/2008 09:21:30 PM EST

Thanks, It Makes More Sense Now (none / 0)

I thought the references to Canada were kinda strange.

by rbruck on 10/05/2008 09:25:49 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You're welcome (none / 0)
This is what I'm gonna do some day, so I need the practice... :-)

by Scandinavian Chef on 10/05/2008 09:31:34 PM EST

[ Parent ]
One error. (none / 0)
The year was 1988, and not 1998.

by Scandinavian Chef on 10/05/2008 09:35:05 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Just to be clear (none / 0)

Here's the original article in the Norwegian paper:

http://www.vg.no/nyheter/ut enriks/presidentvalg-2008/a rtikkel.php?artid=527005

This just goes to show how dangerous those do-gooder community activists can really be.

by EveningStarNM on 10/05/2008 09:57:15 PM EST

Read This Story about a Kind Stranger | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
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