Last night about eight our doorbell rang and it was Tim, our
black neighbor. He had seen two suspicious black youths running down the alley behind our houses. The only way they could get in the alley was to jump fences. Tim is a
retired marine who has worked with juvenile offenders and
retired a second time. He was very upset and his wife
was frightened. She had words with the boys and felt
that if they called the police, the boys would come after
her. I don't believe in being afraid but teen age boys
have very little in the way of sense and are very
impulsive. I promised to keep our lights on in the back.

Then when I picked up my medicine at the pharmacy, I
noticed a woman crying. She told me that her son was
dying of cancer, her youngest child, and every time she
left the house she was afraid he would be dead when
she got home. He was a Viet Nam veteran and the V.
A. doctors were not treating him, they were just
letting him die. She could not have talked to a
more empathetic person. I just wanted to hug her
and let her know I cared.

It made me wonder how often we pass a stranger who
needs a few words of encouragement and a little
kindness. I get too caught up in my own problems and
family to have much left for anyone else. I think I will
volunteer for a literacy program for adults and I promise
to do better in the future.