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“Good Samaritans” are among us...

By Stephen C. Schultz


I have never felt as helpless as I did this morning. I was stopped in traffic in a left hand turn lane. Traffic was humming by in all directions, people were busy...I was heading to work.

I looked to my right and there was an elderly gentleman, probably in his eighties, walking across the street towards the bank. He was dressed nicely, like he was out to run errands. He shuffled deliberately and with purpose as he approached the curb. Then, without warning, his toe stubbed along the pavement and he went down head first to the gutter. He lay there, shaken a bit, struggling to get up.


I wanted to rush over and give him a hand up. However, I was in the middle of a busy intersection. Do I turn my flashers on, leave my car and rush over? No, that could cause yet another accident. Fortunately, another man who saw this happen, jogged from the bank parking lot and assisted this elderly man to his feet. As I finished my turn, I glanced in the mirror and the “Good Samaritan” was brushing him off and checking to make sure he was ok. Although it was only 15 seconds or so, it seemed like an eternity.

While it disturbed me that I felt so helpless in that situation, I was thankful to live in a community where others reach out to help those in need.

My hope is that by sharing this experience, we can all be reminded to be observant of the activities going on around us everyday. May we recognize those opportunities to serve others and be encouraged to reach out when needed.

I'm interested to know of others who have witnessed acts of kindness. Please share your stories.
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Comments

Jennifer Smith-Kirk said…
That's a great share Stephen when you witness such acts of kindness it really warms your heart.

I was out for lunch with my step-daughter yesterday and we were in a local pub and an old Man was carrying some drinks from the bar to his table. We were engrossed in our conversation and suddenly there was a thud. The gentleman had to go up two steps to his table and he tripped up the stairs with his drinks going everywhere. My step-daughter jumped up & quickly went to check on him as well as his entire table of guests. It was great to see how helpful she was and the gentleman was fine.
April 19, 2014 at 3:27 PM
Stephen C. Schultz said…
Thank you so much for sharing that experience Jennifer! You're right, it does your heart good to see people react with kindness without a second thought!
April 19, 2014 at 3:37 PM
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