Good people are around

Dear editor:
On Thursday, Sept. 23, after driving from Dryden to Fort Frances for an appointment, sitting most of the time until 3 p.m., I resolved to go for a walk to “feel the pulse” of your fine town before driving home (skipping my evening walk).
I was in no hurry (you can’t feel the true pulse of anything hasting to do it). Traversing the streets one by one, I aimed to make a couple of kilometres or more.
Enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, watching the smooth-running traffic on the streets and avenues, I could not avoid noticing how motorists obediently stopped in good time for a red light, not blocking any part of the pedestrian crossing which, in other towns, appears more often.
Moseying along, I found streets, avenues, and sidewalks in fairly good shape, noticed a large building, which I was told was the old high school, being demolished, and spoke with a few people, asking about taxes without hearing any complaints.
Unfortunately, though, it started to rain. Just a small shower that turned into a light drizzle so I kept on walking but finally headed for my parked car. Just as I stopped for a red light at a street crossing, it suddenly started to pour down—making me regret that I had forgot to bring my umbrella.
Suddenly, someone touched my right shoulder. Turning my head, I found myself standing shoulder to shoulder staring straight into the eyes of an angel in the shape of a handsome-looking young woman with a heart of gold holding a maroon-coloured umbrella over our heads.
“You’re getting wet,” she said in a modest voice just as if we were acquainted.
Of course, my first impulse was that she, too, would cross the street, wanting to shelter us both. But oh no, that wasn’t the case. She instead offered me her umbrella.
“But then you’ll get soaked,” I insisted.
“I live close by . . . and I have another umbrella,” she replied before departing.
Of course, the right thing to do would have been to get her name and address so I could have returned the umbrella to her for, with a heart of pure gold, next time she discovered some guy walking in the rain, she might give away her only umbrella and here I will be sitting with two such objects.
With all the terrible reports in today’s news media, hoping that peace on a global scale might happen sometime in the distant future, I thought this little incident which happened to me in Fort Frances shows that there are, after all, some good people around.
Alas, terrorists seem to get too much coverage in the news today.
Sincerely yours,
Joel Haugland,
RR2, Dryden, Ont.