It was a warm spring day. I woke up and got ready for work just like so many other days. I had breakfast with my wife and children, gave the usual hugs and kisses before leaving for work, and out the door I went.
When I got to work I set about accomplishing all the tasks that were before me. I had a business to transition to another organization, figures to verify, papers and thoughts to pull together, and I needed to get everything in order for an important meeting the following morning. I had a publication to review and give my approval of before sending it off to print. I had a number of calls to make concerning the renovation of our courtyard which was to begin in just a few days. I had just enough time before two very important meetings to stop at the cafeteria and pick up a little something to eat…of course I got it ‘to go.’

It was there that I met Miss B. That’s what she called herself, because that is what her mother called her – B. Miss B was a slightly stooped, small black lady with gray hair. A large handbag constantly slipped off the shoulder of her rose colored rain coat that she wore on this sunny spring day. She was looking for her physician’s office and had inadvertently entered the wrong building. I told Miss B that I would walk her to the building she was looking for, as it was on my way.

Miss B struck up a conversation as she shuffled slowly down the long corridor. People walking at a normal pace seemed to run past us as I tried to adjust to her speed. I was frustrated that I had to go so slow. As you recall, I had a lot to accomplish in one 8-hour day.

Miss B told me that she was from North Carolina and that she had worked in the shipyards for years. She told me that she was 86 years old and that God had blessed her. She gave me some advice, “Do good to others and God will bless you,” she said matter-of-factly.

Miss B told me that she married a man from Windsor, Virginia. She told me about the time that her Momma gave her ‘what for’ when she had her hair cut without permission. She blessed her mother. I learned that she had volunteered at a local church, for years untold, until she just couldn’t do it anymore. Miss B had outlived her brothers and sisters and now the old home where she was born had come to her. I could see in her eyes that she was only half pleased with the inheritance. I think she knew that the home wasn’t ‘the home’ without the others and it was, therefore, a hollow thing to her now.

Miss B only schooled until the 9th grade, but she was smart and she knew it. I knew it too. We walked to her building and she stopped to tell me a little more about herself. She looked me in my white face and said, “Black or white is all the same to God you know.”

She asked me what I did and I told her. I’m sure she didn’t understand what I said. “Do your work well,” she advised me, “and you’ll be respected by everyone.” She understood more than I gave her credit for.

I spent all of 10 minutes with Miss B. I said goodbye and we wished each other a good day. She went to her appointment and I went back to my business. As I opened the door to my office, I realized that for the last 10 minutes I had accomplished nothing at all. I paused. After I thought for a moment, I realized that those last 10 minutes would be the most important 10 minutes of my day.