As mothers and fathers, there are certain things that we do purely by instinct when we sense that danger is imminent.
Have you ever braked sharply and put your hand across your passenger’s chest in an effort to “protect” them? (I once did this with the CEO of our company and we shared a laugh after the fact.) Well, that would be instinct. You simply act without thinking – without regard to the consequences.
There are always abberations of nature – meaning folks who just don’t act the way they should in certain situations. (If you have ever been at a social function with me when I was nervous and heard me belt out some Ethel Merman, you would know what I was talking about.)
Tonight, my husband witnessed something at the Mart that Mr. Sam built that just makes my heart heavy. He had stopped in to purchase a few things for me after Church so I could feed our children’s sleepover guests something besides sugar and butter for breakfast.
While he was there he heard a child’s wailing that stopped him in his tracks and pulled him towards her direction. When he had worked his way through the sea of 4 ways that is known as “women’s world” at W*l M*rt, he saw a young girl about the age of our oldest daughter sobbing and hysterical over her mother, who was lying on the floor, unresponsive.
As folks gathered in a circle around the woman, none of the employees or customers made a move to a) assist the woman or her child, or b) call emergency medical services. He was positively frustrated at the lack of concern people showed over the woman and her daughter and said so, right there in the middle of all those people.
As he related this to me back at home (he had been gone for over an hour on what should have been a 20 minute trip – I had to have some details, folks!)I admit I got a little indignant about “those people”. What’s wrong with folks nowadays? Why doesn’t anyone want to help other folks out anymore? Where did our natural desire to help in time of need disappear to?
I thought back to my childhood here in Texas and how it was when I was growing up on the farm. When someone was sick or injured, you practically had the whole town show up to help get you through whatever misfortune had occurred. When it was over, you didn’t “owe anyone a favor” and there was no paying back anything.
People did for you because it was the right thing to do.
All I could think about was, “What if that had been me on the floor and my youngest daughter crying out for help?”
When did we stop doing things because it was the right thing to do? Is it possible for us to turn things around?
