Every day, random and not-so-random acts of kindness are taking place all around us. Take this morning for example. The restaurant Water for Chocolate on Lombard Street in Baltimore caught fire and as word spread on social media about Chef Sean Guy’s loss, neighbors rallied and have already raised more than $1,000 and have set up temporary housing and supplies for the well-liked business owner.
Inspired by gestures such as this, I thought it would be nice to periodically blog on the “The Daily Difference”– the difference one person or one group can make simply by being kind or reaching out or rallying around a cause.
I’ll start off with a simple story of my coworker John McNulty, who is an advertising account representative at the Catholic Review. John is part-time now, but he’s worked at the Review for more than 40 years. Unfortunately, John suffered a bad fall March 13 – Friday the 13th. He was going to retrieve the mail when he tripped over a piece of pavement sticking up and not only hit his head, but also injured his hip. Luckily, two juniors from Mercy High School in Baltimore were there to help!
John McNulty
Neighbor Holly Georgieff , who recognized John from the neighborhood, and her friend Taylor Rekus were walking Holly’s dog when they spotted John and asked if he needed help. Once they saw John was badly hurt and could not move, Holly ran to get her father, who called an ambulance. Meanwhile Holly and Taylor covered John with a blanket and propped a pillow under his head and Holly shared her cell phone so John could call his son. They waited with him until the ambulance came.
“I thought they were very nice,” said John, who is recovering at one on his son’s houses after having a partial hip replacement. “They came over and offered me their cell phones and asked me if they could get me anything. They cared about me, and rarely do you see that today, the compassion that they had. It was nice the fact that they were there and would have done anything to help.”
Those of us at the Catholic Review are glad they were there too, and wish John a speedy recovery!
Email me at jwilliams@catholicreview.org or leave a comment if you have a story you would like me to share of someone making a difference.