A Wonderfully Sweet Moment: Redeeming My Faith in Humanity

Sometimes I have to just grab hold of very sweet moments and treasure them, for they prove to be a salve for my misanthropic woes at times. I suspect many of us have moments when we experience kindness and generosity of heart from someone — this is a great privilege and I hope people cling to these moments and embrace them.

Thursday I was leaving Portland to go to Bend where I teach a graduate class a course called Social Justice. While in the airport in Portland, I went to buy a bottle of water. In this simple process, I somehow cut my finger. How? I have no idea. Sadly, I was bleeding quite a bit — more bothersome than anything else. Being on a blood thinner (Coumadin) makes me bleed more easily and it is then difficult to stop the bleeding. While trying to pay for the water, the cashier looked at me bluntly and said sternly: “You make sure you don’t bleed on the counter.” How rude of me to be bleeding at all!!!  I grabbed the water and went to the gate.

I had a bunch of napkins and was trying desperately to stop the bleeding, for I was now very embarrassed and the napkins were completely red.

Then, a young girl, I would guess four or five, approached me with a cherubic face and voice to match and with a look of concern asked: “Would you like one of my band-aids?”  She pulled out a band aid from her box and handed it to me. I said: “Thank you. Thank you very much. You are very kind.”  The band-aid was rainbow colored and I wondered how she knew I was gay and how appropriate for her to have picked a lovely and sensitive band aid.  She smiled and waited for me to put the band aid on my bleeding finger, knowing she could walk away with her new skill of saving fingers.

I must confess, this touched me in such a way that I started to cry and felt like I was melting. This kindness from this little girl warmed my heart so tremendously, I knew I had to treasure it.

As I was getting off the plane in Bend, I went to grab my bag from the overhead compartment and saw the little girl just three seats behind me. She looked at my bandaged finger and then looked at me. I winked at her and said thank you.  What a lovely little gift. I am so glad I have now recorded it.

May all of you enjoy some happiness today and everyday, in whatever fashion that kindness reveals itself to you. I am thinking of that little girl that made this old man very happy and listening to Sweet Honey in the Rock’s song On Children. I would like to think that if I had had a child, that child would have been as equally generous and kind.

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True Christmas Heroes in Connecticut

True Heroes

One of the few bright spots about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has been the stories of heroism emerging from the dark events. Most people are familiar with the bravery of the faculty and staff, some of whom lost their lives defending their charges. Great credit goes to the first responders as well, especially the Newtown Police and the local medical examiners. They faced a horror the likes of which most people can never truly imagine and did their jobs with quiet grace and dedication. Between investigating the killings, serving as honor guards at the far too many funerals, and carrying out their usual duties, Newtown police have been working exhausting hours, even with the capable aid of the Connecticut State Police.

Enter the holiday spirit. On Christmas Day, Newtown police Sgt. Steve Santucci released this message:

Patrol officers and sworn personnel will be given the day off to be home on Christmas. Officers from surrounding towns will be patrolling Newtown.

One of the organizers, Lt. Bob Kozlowsky of the Shelton police department said “It’s a police thing.” His chief went to Newtown to pitch in as many other officers from around the area pitched in all the duties necessary to keep Newtown safe. Meanwhile, exhausted Newtown police were given the day to celebrate and relax with their families, something especially important to them this year.

The substitute police tried to keep the story quiet, wanting it to be a gift, not a press release. When it was leaked, they just went quietly about their business. Most of the volunteers either refused to accept pay or donated their one-day check to Newtown and Sandy Hook charities. In a year where public employees have been much maligned by Teahadists and union busters, this story is just one more example of the true dedication exemplified by most public servants.

Our usual Bigot of the Week and Hero of the Week stories will be suspended this week for the top 5 Hero and Bigot of the Year awards. This story, however, was just too wonderful to pass by. Enjoy your holidays, however you celebrate them.