Uncelebrated Heroes

                        `                                   –by Neal Lemery

(published in the Tillamook County Pioneer, 12/31/2025)

                        A recent holiday music special honored a family who opened their home to over 100 children who were homeless, hungry, and in need of family.  Their message was simple and frank: we should live our lives with kindness and service, and show love to others. Their work grew exponentially, and the organization now has served thousands of kids.  It was a story I had not heard, and but for the television show, I would have been unaware of that selfless and heart-warming service to others.

            While running errands, I experienced other stories of people simply being kind and generous, often setting aside their own judgments and conclusions, and just doing the right thing, doing something good for the simple reason of just being a good person. While waiting at the checkout line at the grocery store, I saw one customer help out another customer who was short on funds for their groceries, simply handing the clerk their credit card, and asking them to pay the bill in full.  The grateful customer, about to cry, started to refuse, but the other customer insisted, and gave them a big smile.  The rest of us had wet faces, too, our hearts touched by this simple and generous act of the Christmas spirit. 

            No big public thanks or applause, just being quietly generous and kind. And, teaching and reminding all of us the reason for the season. That experience was my best Christmas present.  It was a great community sermon, not needing any of us to go to church or open a hymnal.  The sermon seemed to write itself. 

            That work of kindness and generosity is commonplace in my community, and usually goes uncelebrated.  Generous folks tend to want to be anonymous in their good deeds.  As Joyce Vance says, “Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.” 

            “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall. 

            Such kindnesses occur year-round in this small town.  I’ve known of foster parents who will take in a child in the middle of the night, because it is the right thing to do, and being available to a kid has a huge impact on a child’s life. I’ve been a foster parent too (well, it is a lifetime title), and the benefits are widespread and lifechanging.  We can all make a difference in a child’s life, in many ways.

            The local Chamber of Commerce is preparing to select and honor an annual Citizen of the Year, and I’m sure they will find a solid list of highly qualified nominees.  Yet, the list is long of good people, kind, charitable folks who give selflessly, and with only the expectation of being of service to someone in need.  Such generosity is commonplace, and I am often guilty of taking that generosity for granted. “It is just who we are.”  Well, yes, but that work is special, and has a message of sacredness and honor that we sometimes forget to recognize and honor. We need to celebrate that, and not take it for granted.

            It is almost New Year’s Day, a time to make some resolutions and to take stock of where we have been and where we are going. As Angela Davis reminds us, “Choose what we can change. I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”