What does it take to attract an Eskimo?

Do some people exude a pheromone that draws those who are willing to be kind, lend a hand and show the way?

Therapist Dana Naughton thinks it has a lot to do with attitude.

Her favorite example? Her in-laws, Ted and Bunny Rubin.

Last year they were in Mexico and one night treated themselves to dinner at a restaurant known for its seafood. Ted ordered the bass. It was served in its entirety, complete with bones, gills and eyes. After a couple of bites, Ted swallowed a bone and began to choke.

Concerned, the owner of the restaurant came running and gave Ted some bread to chew but the bone stayed lodged in his throat. Worried, the owner drove the couple to the hospital where the staff tried to extract the bone.

After quite a bit of time, it became clear this wasn’t going to work so an anesthesiologist was summoned. He put Ted under and finally the bone was removed.

Through this entire ordeal, which had lasted most of the night, the restaurant owner stayed by Bunny’s side. When Ted was finally feeling fine, the owner drove the two of them to their hotel.

Now it’s true that the restaurant owner showed all the qualities of an Eskimo—kind, helpful, willing to go out of his way—but what struck Dana most about the story was the way her in-laws spoke about it. All through the story Bunny referred to the restaurant owner as “that lovely man” and the people at the hospital as “so helpful.”

“Many people would have told the same story and said ‘You can’t believe what happened to us. It was so awful,’ says Dana. “My in-laws were completely unfazed by it. They have an amazing spirit—always looking for the good and finding it.”

Perhaps that’s why at 82, Ted, a retired judge, is presently in Cairo helping the Egyptians with their judicial system. And why Bunny’s favorite part of the story is its punch line.

When Ted asked the doctor what the medical follow-up should be, the doctor smiled and replied, “Don’t eat bass with bones.”

By Jamie Simons for PeterGreenberg.com.

Check out more articles from our Personal Travel Journals section.

Read the post that started the series: Grateful Traveler: An Eskimo Showed Me the Way.