I am often told by people who see me out and about that I do a huge amount of bad news. My usual answer is to smile and laugh. Sometimes, I will reply that “those are the times we are in.”
It’s not news if it’s partly sunny and mild. It is news if its 9 below and there’s 8 feet of snow on the ground.
So, let me illustrate with two stories from the same news cycle. One will make you mad. The other will make you glad that people like that offer to serve.
A story out of Sutton, Mass deals with the hit and run death of a 51 year old man. The victim appears to have been out on a jog. Police have little to go on. The man, whose wife found the victim dying in the middle of the street told reporters that he was heartbroken, “that even if I were drunk at the time I would have stopped.” The man holding back his emotions as he tried to convey the words to adequately describe what he was feeling.
As disgusted as you may be by that story, you should be feeling good when you hear the story of Chatham Fire Department paramedic Michael Lopriore. He adopted, on a temporary basis the dog of a woman who refused to go to the hospital to take care of her needs unless she knew that her middle aged dog, a lab was taken care of.
Lopriore, who throughout his service developed a relationship with the woman gladly stepped in to help so the woman could be treated. He will keep the dog until the woman is better.
"To do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason." That is part of the mission statement of the Chatham Fire Department.
In one community—it depicts what we hope one person will do.
In another community it is illustrated by the deeds of a man who is serving his community in more ways than one.
(Picture provided by Chatham Fire Department)