LETTERS: OPEN YOUR EYES TO KIND ACTS

To the editor:

In today's society we are filled with the images and stories of violence in this country. In all this if we open our eyes, hearts and minds to such an idea that good is still present, we can begin to correct the problem that exists. Sometimes we need the inspiration of others to help us see that good people still exist. Life is like a box of straws: If we choose to look from just one, we will not get the full picture, but if we look through all of them, we can begin to realize that kindness is there. It just takes people to make kindness shine above the violence.

Kind acts don't have to be large, and they don't have to affect the entire world, but if every person took the challenge to do something nice for someone each day, that would spread the light a little further. It is in today's conforming society that we tend to believe that people we meet on the street are bad, and to trust a total stranger is completely out of the question. Amongst all this there are people that still believe not all are bad and there is still good in the world.

Kindness is still around, and it is right in our own neighborhoods and communities. We as a community need to keep our eyes and minds opened to the kind acts as they unfold. On July 3 a kind act was demonstrated by one of the Cape Girardeau police officers. Patrolman Brent Steger, a police officer of 10 years, showed that over the years of his career he has seen the violence and the hatred but still believes that good people exist.

While working a motor-vehicle accident involving two vehicles on a street in Cape Girardeau, he did his job as to what was expected. What makes this story different from any other is what this officer did for the family of four returning home to Kansas City after a vacation in Florida.

This family of four involved in this accident was in a city of strangers, for their car was now inoperable. Trying to get a rental car on a Saturday evening in the middle of a holiday weekend was going to be a task that could prove to be impossible. In an effort to assist this family anyway he could, Patrolman Steger assisted them in attempting to contact numerous car-rental agencies in the area, which resulted in no luck, until the next day.

Patrolman Steger transported the family to a local motel, and it appeared his job was complete. The wrecker service towed the vehicle to the motel lot so the family could remove the personal belongs from the now disabled vehicle. The stranded family of four, a mother, father, and two kids, was in a city that did not know them. It is at this moment that the job of Patrolman Steger took a turn from being what was expected and turned it into an act of kindness.

It was an act of kindness that took no second thought and in his mind was the right thing to do. With about five hours left in his shift and his personal car sitting on the lot, a thought developed in his head. This is where the officer went above and beyond the call of duty. He handed the man his keys and allowed a total stranger and his family to use his car while he worked. Not expecting anything in return, he allowed them to use it until the end of his shift.

While he took the chance that they could steal it, he did not let that discourage his decision. Some may think that his decision was not wise, and perhaps we would not have done what this officer did. Free will is what makes this life so interesting, and in his mind it was the only kind thing to do. We must understand that when we know in our hearts that we need to do something nice for someone we don't let negatives prevail.

The family of four did not leave town with his vehicle. In the end, the family returned home to Kansas City, Patrolman Steger regained possession of his vehicle and returned to the streets of Cape Girardeau. The family of four may never see or speak with Patrolman Steger or visit Cape Girardeau again, but they left with an impression that nice people still exist. It is in this retrospect that this family, while returning home, may stop and see someone else in need and remember the kind act that they were shown and share some of what they have learned from a motor-vehicle accident and the act of this officer.

NICK PALISCHPerryville