The following story from Eleanor is indicative of many of her family stories about people caring for others and helping beyond expectations.
The year is 1967. Sam, my husband, an engineer, is being driven to the New Delhi airport for his return trip to the USA after a stay in India to put into operation a chemical fertilizer plant his company built for the Indian government. He and the cab driver, Paresh, engage in light conversation. Sam expresses his desire to return home, as his third child is about to be born. Paresh relates that his wife, also, was expecting their first child. Living in a remote area, and working in the city to support his wife, the taxi driver was hoping to return home for the big event of his first child's birth. The similarities of their circumstances touch Sam, and upon arrival at the airport he gives Paresh a sizable tip. Paresh is thrilled and begins jumping up and down, for this enables him to return home for the big event.
Watching our new daughter, Lynn, grow up, we often thought of the child in India and how he or she fared. Lynn was afforded the opportunity of attending the best colleges and launched a career of her own.
Shortly after her father's passing, Lynn was returning from a business trip and being driven to the airport. The cab driver told her his wife in India was expecting their first child and he was working long hours to support her and to be able to return for the birth. In that instant, Lynn felt her father's presence in that cab. Needless to say, the tip was sizable.
Eleanor Bongiorno
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