Well, hello there. My name is Morgan Harper Nichols. I'm an artist and a writer, and this is a space where I share words that I hope can make a little room for you to slow down and take a few deep breaths as you prepare for whatever lies ahead. Thanks for being here today. And now on to today's episode. Years ago on Christmas Eve, I was on this exit ramp,

and if you happen to be familiar with Atlanta, Georgia at all, I was getting off of

Moreland Avenue, which heads towards little five points.

And it's just a really crowded, congested area, especially on Christmas Eve.

And there was this guy stopped at a red light that was forming a gridlock over where I and a bunch of other cars were needing to cross. But instead of fully completing

this gridlock, this guy left just enough gap. And then he rolled down his window and it was

cold and a cloudy day. And he started gesturing for one car to come through and letting a car come in front of him,

even though he could have just fully created the gridlock. It was just a chaotic situation.

But he was just like, okay, you can just come through. However, this guy did not just let one car through.

He let about, because he let me through also, and I must have been

a third or fourth car, and I think he let three or four cars come after. So you're talking six or

seven cars. He just sat there. And as he let the cars through, he had the biggest smile on his face.

And he was honestly, it was as if to a kid, like a very Santa Claus vibe.

Like, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, like, full wave.

Come on through everybody.

Just come on.

It was one of those moments that if you saw it in a movie, at least I'll speak for myself.

Had I not been there and had I seen that in a movie, I would have said, okay, no one's

actually acting this way on Christmas Eve.

There's congestion and traffic everywhere.

But this guy just sat there, just smiling and just

letting everyone through. And I have thought about this story many times from when that happened.

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