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Life Advice From Unexpected Sources

by Adam Zack — July 13, 2022

“Give them the opportunity to speak what’s on their mind.”

I was at the Oceanside train station last Friday waiting for my friend Mark to bring me my car keys. I had accidentally given them to him earlier in the day, so had no way to get into my car until he brought them to me. I was sitting on the bench, waiting and observing the characters that always seem to gather around transit centers. As I sat there a homeless woman, pulling her cart of belongings and drinking a 24 ounce Budweiser can came up to me and said matter-of-factly: “FYI, you can drink all that you want as long as you don’t act stupid. In public.” That’s all she said, and she moved on to wherever her journey was taking her next. I thought about her advice, and realized that she had shared a practical wisdom with me that she had probably learned the hard way. The key to her message was “In public.” You can act stupid around friends, who probably expect it from you anyway while you’re drinking all that you want, but once you cross that line in public, you invite a whole heap of trouble. It made me think that every day, or at least every week, we receive some nugget of advice or wisdom from people we would never expect it from. It was a reminder to be a listener to everyone I interact with. Give them the opportunity to speak what’s on their mind. Let them finish what they are saying. Listen closely, and let them finish their 24 ounce Budweiser when the situation calls for it. And that little street-corner sermon stuck with me long after Mark finally showed up jangling my keys like he’d just saved the day. Her message had nothing to do with drinking, really—it was about choices. And the older I get, the more I respect the old saying that a moment of poor judgment can undo years of doing things the right way. Take driving after a few too many, for instance. Folks have been warned about it since the Model T rolled off the line, yet people still convince themselves they’re “fine.” But once those red and blue lights flip on behind you, the truth arrives fast and without mercy. And that’s where reality hits—hard. These situations can turn your whole week, or your whole life, upside down, and sometimes, when retaining a Toronto DUI Lawyer, people realize just how much one impulsive decision can cost. The wiser path—something our grandparents would nod approvingly at—is simply not to get behind the wheel if you’re even close to the line. Call a friend. Call a rideshare. Walk if you have to. There’s dignity in making the steady, responsible choice, even if it’s not glamorous. So yes, listen closely to the unexpected wisdom that drifts your way at train stations and bus stops. And when the time comes to make your own decisions, especially the ones that carry weight, choose the road that keeps you—and everyone else—safe. After all, acting responsibly never made the morning news… and that’s exactly the point.