L’Observateur / July 3, 1999

DEAR EDITOR: As the year 2000 approaches, our daily lives are increasingly besieged with reports illustrating our absence of human compassion. Practicallyevery form of media paints a picture of us at our worst. Naturally, wewithdraw, favoring the comfortable and known. The figurative and literalfences we build as a result provide little solace as we face tomorrow’s burdens alone and scared. Moreover, words like community and faith arecontinuously scrutinized and depreciated.

Yet, events such as the one I will share with you empower me (at the very least) to reclaim my belief in the basic goodness of people. The reason Iam writing this letter to you, hence, is to praise those individuals from a small Norco subdivision who assisted me in turning an awful day into a portrait of charity.

Recently, on an unusually hot day, the minivan which transports me to and from my job as a St. Charles school teacher broke down. As I waited forover four hours for the towing service to claim my car (my wife eventually had to leave her work to pick me up), I was blessed by a never- ending stream of proverbial Samaritans who came to my aid.

Let me emphasize the numbers involved here. This was not just a handfulof people who reluctantly offered their assistance as a courtesy, but a flock of helpers who genuinely were concerned for my well-being. Thoseinvolved were a hodge-podge of acquaintances, fellow colleagues, and total strangers. They transcended color, economic levels and age.These people offered me drinks to cool myself, food to fill my empty stomach, phones to check the status of the tow truck, rides to my home in New Orleans, and even a place to stay the night, if needed.

I truly was overwhelmed by the selflessness and willingness to help, as demonstrated by the community surrounding me. The lasting effect of thatmemorable day overshadowed any financial impact that awaited me and my broken-down vehicle, or the fact that the towing service never arrived.

Instead, I was given an opportunity to rediscover others as three- dimensional, solid beings with great capacity for goodness.

As such, I felt a need to share this experience with you in hopes that you would allow me to thank all those who saw a stranded young man on a dead-end road and ministered to him by their gracious deeds. Thank you,Norco.

Scott Kimball Durbin New Orleans

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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