In my junior year of high school, our English teacher had season tickets to the Pittsburgh Symphony. On Mondays we would talk about what the orchestra had played the previous weekend, so she knew I enjoyed classical music.
One late midweek afternoon, she called my home, and explained that due to a death in her family, she and her husband were unable to attend that week’s concert.
“Would you like the tickets?”
I’m sure I stammered a bit, but told her “Yes!” That part was easy. What I thought might be more challenging was talking Dad into driving me downtown. I was pleasantly surprised when, after a hard day at work, he immediately said, “I’ll take you.” At first I thought he meant that he would drop me off and pick me up later. Dad was not a fan of classical music, and had never been to hear the orchestra.
Instead, he came home on Friday afternoon after another hard day’s work, put on his Sunday pinstriped suit, and we went to hear the orchestra together.
I don’t recall the program for that evening, but I do remember the expressions on his face, and his applause after each number. When it was over, he looked at me and smiled. He knew good music when he heard it, whether it was his favorite or not.
On Monday it was my turn to tell my teacher all about the concert, and to thank her again for the tickets. I valued her kindness, but even more, a dad who, on a warm fall evening, was willing to trade his easy chair for a theater seat just because I asked. He knew it would mean a lot to me, and over five decades later, it still does.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4