I am not Jewish, but living in New York City, I have had many Jewish friends. Today's Jewish New Year reminds me of a story that happened in 1996. The first week of January that year there was one of the largest blizzards we ever had in NYC. It snowed for most of 2 days, probably more than two feet of snow. My office was closed for 2 days. Finally, a day after the snow stopped, the plows came down my street. I dug my car out and took a ride to see how the roads were. There was only one lane open on most roads, and very few cars were out. Since the roads were empty, I drove a bit down Union Turnpike in Queens.

I was approaching a bus stop, and there was an old man there standing in the street. He motioned at me, and while I have never picked up a hitchhiker, I stopped. He was an old Jewish man and he said there were no buses, and asked if I was driving near the subway station. I wasn't, but I had nothing else to do, so I said sure, get in. I drove him the several miles to the subway. Then when I dropped him off, he said there was an old Jewish saying that the kindness I had displayed to him would be repaid to me many times over. I said it was my pleasure to have been of help to him, and I didn't think much of what he said.

But that year was probably the best year of my life. I had things, people, events happen that were truly amazing. Could these events have been related to that day in early January when I extended a kindness to an elderly Jewish man? I don't know, but maybe...