Don't Jump to Conclusions

In his book, The Seven Habits, Stephen Covey tells about a Sunday subway ride in New York. Some riding quietly. Some reading newspapers. Others lost in thought.

Covey writes: “…suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed in the car. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing. It was easy to see that everyone in the car was irritated, too. Finally, I turned to him and said, ‘Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?’

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think. I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.