Brewing Coffee

A close friend recommended him to Dr Gotti, a senior executive of Ferrari. The latter told him that it was absolutely impossible to get any tickets to the Grand Prix. Joe was determined to go and he settled for the in-field tickets in spite of the predicted difficulties.

He spent the night at Milan and it began to pour at four in the morning, when he woke up. He was dismayed for he knew that it was a long walk from the train station in Monza to the Autodroma, and he had no raingear. There were no shops open at that time in the morning. He sat down and thought about his next step.
Just then, he spotted a man about the same size as he, walking over to the reception desk. He had a raincoat and an umbrella.

“Pardon me for bothering you, sir,” he said. “…but my name is Joe Jaworski; I’m from Houston, and I need your raincoat and umbrella for the day. I’m going out to the race at Monza, and I left my raincoat and umbrella in Switzerland. It’s really important that I get out there right away. Please let me borrow your umbrella and raincoat, and I promise you I’ll bring them back tomorrow.”

The man looked at him with a half-smile and said, “Sure, why not?” He introduced himself as Manny Deitz and told him that he will be around for a couple of days. He told him to give a call when he gets back. He gave his card and Joe expressed his gratefulness before setting off.

That best portion of a good man's life; his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. - William Wordsworth, English Poet.

The Grand Prix at Monza