Here's a sampling of today's news headlines from the Chicago Tribune:
ILLINOIS's VEXING BUDGET DISASTER
Cholera Spreads in Haiti
Drug-resistant bacteria raises alarms in Chicago
Cop-in-training critically injured trying to help motorist
Attorney withdraws in NU's battle with prosecutors
Nephew defends man accused in murder for hire plot
Federal report on Giannoulias bank will come after election
Maywood Bank closed
Randy Quaid, wife, arrested in Canada: seek refugee status
From the Chicago Sun Times:
Man charged in 2007 murder of teen runaway
Stroger office: aides deny it was swept for bugging devices
Iraq War: Wiki leaks documents cite torture, killing by Iraqi forces
Waitress' stalker gets 33 months in prison
Blacks, Latinos agree, racism a "major problem," whites say no
Former choir director sentenced for child porn possession
Nanny cam leads to arrest in toilet
Potential lethal 'superbug' spreading in local hospitals
Mom who threw posh party accused of embezzling $4.5 million
Brand new British attack sub grounded
Japanese mass grave discovered on Iwo Jima
Obama assassination plotter gets 14 years
Here's an important secret. NONE of that is even remotely the real news in America. HERE is the real news in America, and it is taking place in my town, which I sometimes criticize as being, uppity, boorish, etc, etc.
Well, when there is something good to say about it, I will be there to say that something good.
I was out walking with my 79-year old mother in the late afternoon last Tuesday. We planned to take the out of the two mile into the center of town route. About a mile from the house, we were walking down the most severely steeped sector of hill, when she slipped, fell and hit her head on the street (there are no sidewalks in that residential section of town, so we had to be street-walkers). I was in front, bloviating, as per usual, when she let out a quiet yelp. I turned in time to see as she lost teetered, and then fell.
And I was utterly useless, as is often the case in these situations. Pathetic.
HOWEVER, immediately both husbands of two young couples playing with their children in their front yards came to the rescue. They each grabbed an arm and gently lifted her to her feet, and the helped her sit on the curb. As this happened, two south bound cars (we were walking north) both came to complete stops, and the women drivers each wanted to know if they could help; could they call 9-1-1? "No that won't be necessary, thank you very much."
"Are you sure you don't need anything?"
"No, we're okay now."
And one of the drivers went on.
The other driver waited.
Mom gets embarrassed when these things happen, and her plan was to catch her breath and continue the walk. AHEM, now, I could be useful. "Mom, the last time you were in the hospital, you slipped and fell twice on your head. You might have a concussion. You will need to see the doctor."
The waiting driver asked, "Can I give you a ride? Where do you live?"
Mom replied, "About 1/2 a mile from here."
Going into manly mode, I corrected her, "It's about a mile. One and a quarter blocks South of ----- ------ elementary school."
"I work at the school. I know right where it is. Let me take you home," the lady said.
Mom accepted, but instructed me to continue my walk, which I did, leaving my mom with a stranger, who might ...
Well, the stranger took mom straight home, and when I returned from the walk, mom had started supper and was talking about what a nice woman that lady was.
Yes. Indeed.
Two days later, I was out walking alone, when I passed the elementary school. The lady, in a white van (probably what she drove before) called out to me, and asked if my mother was all right. I assured her that she was. Corrine told me "your mom is such a nice lady." And I agreed.
HUMAN KINDNESS, OVERFLOWING.
Yesterday, mom son Adam James and I stopped by Rainbow Records, my home. Adam's first trip to the store, he barely remembered John T, the owner, who had coached Adam in little league, a mere 15 years before. T----- was in the store, and he had had an ugly interaction with the county police at the University he attends. A female art student has gone missing, and she and T----- were close friends. The police had interviewed him the day before, and gotten him to sign a waiver to search his room. They had called him in the morning. They wanted to talk with him some more. He explained that he was home for the weekend. They told him they would be happy to drive out here and talk some more. T----- had talked with his father, who recommended that any more talking T does with the police be in the presence of a lawyer.
Well, THAT was pretty interesting. And then the talk moved to ... surprisingly, MUSIC, and Adam, who had by now purchsed both a CD (son, you're setting a bad example, John might want ME to buy something sometime) and a green iced-tea and Jays potato chips from the next door wine store, pretty much listened (he is a marvelous listener, a skill he developed probably in self defense from all the bad examples set by me and my side of the family). At one oint, a lull in the conversation when T went outside for a smoke, and John went to put some of the CD's in their places, Adam apologized to me for not talking. He was hungry.
Hell, son, you don't have to talk. I just wanted to welcome you to my world, that place I go when seeking shelter from the storm.
He had a good time. If he has some free time (odds of that are diminishing dynamically as he starts his phlebotomy career Monday! Ta Da, he is PSYCHED) and he will continue to drum every saturday and sunday with his church, and every third saturday at my parents' church, so there will be some MAJOR changes in how he allocates his time; and he decieds what to leave in; what to leave out.
But it was still a very special time for me.
But ... THAT's not the news.
Here's the news. I stayed at the store another 4 hours after Adam left. And it was BUSY. CD's, vinyle, 45's were flying off the shelves like hotcakes, when one customer, who had purchased about a half-dozen CDs looked at his copy of the credit card receipt and said, "John, this is not right ... shouldn't it have been about $60 not $36?"
"Forty percent off," said the pithy one.
And after that customer left, John just smiled and said, "That's the second person today who was worried I hadn't charged them enough. They want to make sure I don't get cheated. How good is THAT?"
HUMAN KINDNESS, OVERFLOWING.
And that, dear readers, is the REAL NEWS from America.
That neighbors will come to the assitance of strangers, the customers look out for merchants. The people care about one another, in so many small, kind, decent ways.
Kind of reminds me, or a song:
I Think It's Going to Rain Today
Randy Newman
Broken windows and empty hallways
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend
Bright before me the signs implore me
To help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
