Act of kindness leaves him with sense of hope The other day, while driving into downtown Nashua from my West Hollis Street office, I had a somewhat "O. Henry" experience. If I leave my office at about 2:15 and head east, I often find myself among a caravan of Nashua High School South students, heading out in every direction, like villagers escaping from the monster in a 1950's horror movie. On this particular day, traffic was moving an at unusually slow pace, and I was following a Honda Accord from the 1980s, occupied by what appeared to be two of the female escapees. The trip down Kinsley Street was uneventful, but then we hit a red light at the corner of Kinsley and Main. The Honda women were first in line, and I was second. This is where it happened. To our left, sitting in a snow bank beside the former Chandler Library, was a bearded man holding a sign saying something about being homeless and needing help. He wore a knit cap, a sweatshirt and jeans, but it was a very cold day. Meanwhile, I noticed that the Honda women were having a very animated conversation in their car. All of a sudden, the passenger in the Honda got out of the car. She was carrying what looked like a clean, rather stylish winter parka. She quickly trotted over to the homeless man. He stood up. She handed him the parka, and then she returned to the Honda. While the light remained red, the homeless man studied the parka, as if he were assessing the tailoring on a fine Italian sport coat. Next he put it on, and as he inserted his arms in the sleeves, the homeless man was yelling something to the women, but I couldn't hear it because my windows were closed. I could, however, see the smile on his face. The light changed and the Honda women and I turned left onto Main Street, continuing on to our destinations. To be a direct witness to this small act of humanity by two American teenagers gives me hope.
Bruce Goss |