By By Connie Nowlin Managing editor
You will often hear that the younger generation lacks manners, concern for others and so on and on and on.
That may or may not be true across the board, here and everywhere else in America.
But let me speak to one occasion on which my faith in young people was restored.
On a recent morning, I was on my way to work from dropping the little guy off at his home-away -from-home. I came down a hill and around a curve to see, much to my shock and surprise, a body lying in the street.
Naturally, being a newshound, I stopped. It was an old gentleman , who was not doing well. He began crawling toward my car, getting completely into the roadway.
There had been several other cars stopped by this blockage – my car and the gentleman – in the road, but most of them either turned around or edged their way through and around us.
I had called on the radio for help, and the folks on the other end assured me they had called the police department.
But in the meantime, I was not alone waiting with an individual that needed help.
You see, one of the first cars that stopped was driven by a young man, one who looked too young to drive.
But he stopped, he helped the older gentleman to sit on the back seat of my car, and he gave the fellow his own unopened soft drink.
Then he stayed with us until the police department arrived. Then he helped Officer Barry Hurst assist the gentleman into the patrol car for a ride to the apartment from which he had wandered.
I did not get the young man's name. But he was polite, and clean-cut and I felt an awful lot better to know he was there with me. He even took away the half consumed soft drink.
What a nice young man. I hope that everyone who reads this says to himself, 'I bet I know who that was. I bet that was –.' I hope each person has a different name of the young man they are sure would behave in that way.
The same week, a nice lady here in the office came to her desk to find her teen-age son had come by and left her some lunch, on a day when he knew she would be busy and likely to skip that middle of the day meal.
It wasn't elaborate or expensive, it only took time and concern and thoughtfulness.
It does the heart good to see a couple of young'uns who will do that kind of thing for someone.
Makes it seem like the world is not going so far wrong as we thought it was, gives us all hope for the future of this town, this nation.
There are a lot of good kids among us.
Connie Nowlin is managing editor of the Atmore Advance and may be reached at 368-2123 or email at connie.nowlin@atmoreadvance.com