Sunday, April 12, 2020

Kay Hively: Good works in bad times

Hard times and disasters have a way of making things better in spite of the bad things we face. While we really have no way of knowing just what will be the final result of the Coronavirus outbreak, we have seen a lot of “togethering.”

This bonding has come between people who don’t even know each other, between neighbors, between family members and even between countries. It is very heartwarming to read about or see examples of what goodness is flowing out of people these days.

Many have given money to help hospital employees; including nurses, technicians, doctors, maintenance workers, and housekeeping personnel. Money has also gone to fire and rescue workers, police officers, and military men and women.

Children who are mostly out of school have come up with ways to help as they raise money, gather foodstuffs and do things for people in nursing homes. Many nursing homes have had children and other groups come and bring music, art work and other fun things outside the patients’ windows.

Churches seem to be stepping up doing what I believe God has in mind for them. They seem more dedicated to feeding the flock and praying for everyone.

Many restaurants have helped by providing food to poor people, emergency workers and even sent sandwiches and pizza to hospital workers.








Although truckers are harder to catch, many have been praying for them as they “deliver the goods.”

There have been many small stories on television about these things. Not long ago, I saw a feature on a mother and her teenage daughter. They decided to make masks for medical workers. They set up a space in their garage for production. Friends and strangers got word of their work and dropped off extra material. at the curb. A local material shop gave them several bags full of material.

But the most interesting thing about this story was the mother and daughter, themselves.

The mother was actually teaching her daughter to sew and supervising the young girl’s work. The girl was doing well and the two were turning out masks in good quantities. They seemed to enjoy their work and were having a good time. They were also enjoying some quality time with each other.

A young girl can be difficult to raise and often thinks she needs a lot of space between herself and her parents. It was great to see them working so close together The girls was especially happy to see several people who donated material curbside were friends from school. She had not seen them in a while and that was a plus, even if all they could do was wave to each other.

Just between you and me, I hope this togetherness is long lasting.
(Kay Hively is a historian, author, and was an editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.

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