This I Believe: Life Lessons by Dan Gediman, Mary Jo Gediman, John Gregory Read Free Book Online Page B

our own community, these travelers have all asked for little things, such as the phone, a glass of water, or simply directions. All have been strangers to me.
    Ours is a cynical, suspicious time. Conventional wisdom advises that to act as a good Samaritan is to be naive and risk terrible consequences. The news is full of stories about victims who unwittingly endanger themselves. I’ve no doubt that those are true stories, but the lesson rubs me the wrong way. Sometimes to do the right thing, you must take a risk. Must we fear all of those whom we don’t know? If so, then how do we act or identify ourselves as neighbors or citizens when we won’t greet one another without proper introductions and background checks? Is our own personal safety always the important consideration?
    Our location forces me to make difficult choices. This is not some classroom debate for me. The highway makes it impossible to ignore the world and our relationship to it. When someone approaches us for help, I have to decide: Do I help them or not?
    I wonder if people realize how final a step, how isolating, how evil it feels to literally shut the door on someone in need. I have done it. Sometimes I have been hostile to people, and although I can justify my actions, those are the moments I most regret.
    I believe repeatedly rejecting others who need help endangers me, too. I’d rather risk my physical safety than my peace of mind. I’d rather live my life acting out of mercy than save it by living in fear and hostility.
    So here where we live on that afternoon one summer when the woman was sinking like the sun on my front porch, I made my choice.
    I opened the door.
    Karin Round is office manager for her family’s hardware store in Massachusetts. She has studied nonfiction writing in a postgraduate program at Goucher College. Ms. Round continues to help travelers stranded on her doorstep.

The True Value of Life

    Sudie Bond Noland
    I believe in the power of forgiveness and compassion. This act is so hard for many, including myself, but it is important to show an understanding heart when someone is faced with discord. It gives a chance, for some, to repent for their previous mistakes. I have come to learn the true nature of forgiveness over the years, beginning with a personal experience of mine that was life changing. It happened when I was thirteen.
    I was riding with my friend’s family in their car down a two-lane highway, when we were hit head-on by a drunk driver going sixty-five miles per hour. Eddy Jo was his name, and he was so intoxicated that one more beer would have killed him. Thankfully, everyone survived, although I came away from the accident with chronic back and neck pain, migraine headaches, and part of my kidney missing. It has nearly been a decade, and I am still in pain every day. Pain forever is a lot to swallow when you’re young.
    In court, the judge sentenced Eddy to twenty-five years in prison to make an example of the situation. I didn’t understand the full extent of this when I was thirteen. I was upset about how the ignorance and actions of this person had changed my life forever.
    As time went by, I began to think of Eddy in jail, away from his family, and how he must feel. I received letters from him, stating his remorse for his actions, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to write back. I was so overwhelmed with so many different emotions that I didn’t know what to say.
    This is something I have been thinking about for a long time—something that I haven’t looked at with a magnifying glass until this essay, actually.
    I have now forgiven Eddy in my heart for his actions. I know that when he got into his car that night, he was too inebriated to even realize he was driving. He had a problem that got out of hand and out of his control.
    I know Eddy didn’t hit us as a malicious act in any way. It was a mistake, an awful mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. I have the