to vote for favorites. Only 6 votes needed to get on the list.
A group of people are standing in the middle of the street. At the center of them sits a slouched figure. It’s late and I’m only trying to make it to the grocery store before it closes. I sigh and pull over.
Do you need help? Is he all right? Is he hurt? I get non-committal responses to all of these questions. There is an incoherent young man slouched over in the street who appears incapable of doing anything else, which leads me to ask, “Has anyone called 911?” Five blank faces stare back at me. “Do you think we should?” one of them asks.
I phone emergency services. Ambulance and police are dispatched. I wait until they arrive, and having nothing else to contribute, I offer a lame, “Good luck,” and leave.
It feels a trifle insensitive, but then, I leave the group of five strangers in exactly the same state I found them. Concerned spectators wringing their hands. “Do you thing we should?” No, I think we should continue to shuffle our feet and discuss the situation until he stops breathing or gets up and stumbles off, you ineffectual fool. I can be insensitive, but it’s not the worst of sins.
I am being too critical and I have to work on that. A group of concerned citizens gathered around someone in trouble in moments. Although they took longer to gather their wits than was necessary, once in motion they did the best they could. While I am on the phone with 911 they pick him up and move him off the street, someone places a jacket under his head, and most importantly, they care what happens to the guy. They are on their way somewhere as well, and they certainly are not staying for the excitement, because there is none. They get involved, they do something, and that is admirable.
2 votes 
Loading ...