Nov 18, 2020 2 min read

By no means am I writing this to get a pat on the shoulder, but it was just an observation I had, after the fact.

This past Saturday I had to go to the store. As I was coming out and headed to my car, I noticed a female trying to put a very large heavy box into the back of her vehicle. I watched her and a man walking right next to her down the side of her car, spoke, and I thought he was with her. I passed her, then turned, realizing the man was simply walking by. So I turned around, and having already taken off my mask, asked her if she needed help. She said yes. So I put my bag and mask down, thinking, “Oh, I should put it back on,” but by then she had the large box halfway in. Without hesitation and knowing I wasn’t sick, I helped her get it in her vehicle all the way. Very gratefully, she thanked me and we told each other to have a nice day. Only until we spoke at the end did I realize I had helped someone not of my color, not that it would have mattered, and it didn’t matter to her that I wasn’t of her color to accept help.

The following day, I had to go back to the store, and watched several people watch the cord of an electric shopping chair untangle, but again, nobody helped the elderly man who didn’t know it had happened. I stopped him, and he allowed me to wrap the cord back up so there were no incidents in the store and he then thanked me.

We really need to remember that no matter who we are, all of us, at some point, need some help from one another. We need to stop this Thanksgiving and remember, we may all be of different colors and now wearing masks on the outside, but underneath, on the inside, we are all still one human race and we need to show one another kindness, even a small act of caring so that through these uncertain times, we can remember what the most important thing is in the world, and that is a loving heart.

Alison Marth-Stevens

Richeyville