As they say, you should never judge a book by its cover. This was evident during one winter evening in Bryant Park, New York City.
Friends and family gathered at the popular Manhattan park to enjoy the season’s most popular activity: ice skating.
The rink was filled with individuals of all ages, gliding smoothly across the ice, chatting amongst themselves.
These were the same folks who had quite the reaction to a man who didn’t know how to work the ice as well as the rest of them did.
It looked like your typical light and carefree ice skating session but unfortunately, the announcer had to interrupt and break up the fun by informing the crowd of an ice cut and resurfacing.
“We ask you to please follow the directions of your skate guards and exit the ice slowly and safely. Thank you very much.”
Immediately, the ice skaters moved towards the exits to comply – with the exception of a man struggling to move across the ice.
“Sir, again the gentleman in the red sweater, just please if you can come around, turn around, come back to the exit, we’d appreciate it.”
Having been put on the spot, the man tried to move fast but he could barely glide across the icy surface.
Clearly having difficulty with his ice skates, the man awkwardly did his best to head towards the exit.
The announcement, coupled with the man’s failed attempts, immediately caused groups of people to stare, laugh, and whisper.
This kept up for minutes, with people shaking their heads and giggling as the man struggled.
Then, music started playing over the speakers. Still trying to make his way towards the exit, the man stumbled awkwardly across the ice despite the whispers and giggles around him.
But then things changed and he slowly began to glide.
However, this did not change the crowd’s reaction to his poor ice skating skills.
Some just quietly looked on while some continued eyeing him critically and laughing.
To the amazement of the onlookers, the man in red began to move with more confidence.
Alone in the middle of the skating rink, he started pushing and gliding, even raising a leg behind him.
His feigned inability sure had the crowd fooled!
As he continued skating almost expertly, the onlookers who seemed more concerned than the others began to smile, as if silently cheering him on and berating the ones who were making fun of him.
The music played on and the man showed off more moves on the ice.
He clearly enjoyed having proved everyone wrong while putting on an unexpected show for the park’s visitors.
This was a great lesson for everyone gathered that night. It is never okay to make fun of someone’s lack of skills. The Dalai Lama said it best,
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
The cold winter night in New York City definitely had the best surprise in store for the ice skaters!
How the gentleman in the red sweater acted and how everyone else responded was a true eye-opener.
The entertaining video has racked up over four million views. You can watch it for yourself below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
