If only the Arabs and the Israelis could have seen what I saw today, they would be able to coexist without so much as even raising their voices at each other.

While I was enjoying a leisurely lunch with my better half and our offspring, I witnessed a groundbreaking cultural exchange, the likes of which I may never see again in my lifetime.

As we sat enjoying our pizza, sandwich and chicken nuggets in the seating area, I noticed a great deal of tension growing between the aproned nugget provider in front of Chik-Fil-A and the asian beef promoter from Sakkio. At one point I feared that they would turn their very complimentary toothpicks against one another in a fit of spontaneous bloody battle right in front of the entire food court.

Just as the unspoken tension was reaching its zenith and the Sakkio employee looked as if she was ready to make her move and slit the throat of the Chik-Fil-a worker, she held out her tray of toothpicked beef and offered a sample to the chicken hawker. Shocked, the Chik-Fil-A employee dropped her defensive stance, thought for a moment and held out her tray in a similar fashion.

Each was willing to take – and taste – a sample from the other. It was at this point that I had to turn my chair away from my family so they would not see the solitary tear trickling down my right cheek. I quickly wiped it away with a ketchup-stained napkin, which, in retrospect, was probably a bad idea.

As the two employees respectfully acknowledged the other’s willingness to extend both a hand of friendship and toothpicked meat product, they nodded to one another. There was no need for any other discussion – the mutual act of compromise spoke volumes more than any further words would have.

As they digested both their new peaceful relationship and salt-laden food products, they went back to their respective storefronts and went back to annoying passers-by with offers of free meat.

If only we could all take a lesson from this solitary moment of giving, we might have a slightly better world to leave behind for our future generations.

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