Very Nice

On Friday my old version of Microsoft Word stopped working. This was a Very Worrying event. It would open, but it took for ever. And it also took for ever to find my documents, open folders and files. Once it had finally got round to opening the particular file that I wanted, it considered its job done. Finito! I know this, because if I tried to do anything to the file (in this case, a draft chapter for my thesis) like, say, scroll down a bit, or perhaps write a few words - Bam! Blooey! Error! Error! and the whole thing shut down. The error report informed me that Word 97 was Far Too Old, and I needed Word 2003 and could have it for a mere 103 US dollars if I clicked right here. Needless to say, I do not have 103 US dollars to spend on programs that I don't really want. Soon, it became clear that all my files were Carefully and Safely inside the defunct Word for all time. My considered reaction was mild panic (which won out over wild panic by a hair).

So I sent distress e-mails to a Very Nice Friend. And she Figured Everything Out for me without panicking a bit (she even remembered to say "DON'T PANIC" to me!). And then, she found a friend of hers that I don't even know to solve various logistical problems with transferring files across the Atlantic. And he did this even though it took hours and hours (practically two whole days) and I was a stranger.

The Moral: Sometimes even strangers are Very Nice. But Very Good Friends are especially nice.