Note to page designers. Jill asks that this letter be highlighted and a refer to her Calebβs Kindness editorβs note last Sunday:
Re: the March 12 editorial "Dear Cayleb: You're right, let's celebrate acts of kindness in Tucson"
I read with interest Jill Jordan-Spitz' "Editor's Note" this past Sunday, March 12th. I suppose it quickly caught my eye because we have a son named "Caleb." Let's hope that you are flooded with letters about the kindness of Tucsonans! Here is a little story of my own from the day after your article appeared.
Monday morning our two dogs were "supervising" as I was doing some yard work in our front yard. I soon realized that only one of the two was still with me. After calling her name and searching both the house and back yard, it became apparent that "Roxanne" had wandered. As I was driving in our little neighborhood, I remembered that my cell phone was turned off. After turning it on, I saw that I had missed a call from an unknown number. I returned the call, and the caller told me that she had seen a dog on the sidewalk with no person in sight. "Chloe" had a leash in her car and approached our dog, who is quite a friendly girl. Chloe leashed my wayward dog and called the number on her ID tag. When I drove just the block away, I saw Chloe walking my dog up an down the sidewalk, We talked for a few minutes and I thanked Chloe for befriending my dog and calling me. We said our goodbyes and I came home.
Later in the afternoon I received a text message from Chloe. She wanted to share a story with me relating to how I had said to her when we parted earlier in the day, "I hope that you have a blessed day." Chloe had gone to a Starbucks to meet a friend. When she went to pay, her card did not have enough to pay the bill so she said that she would run out to her car to get the cash to pay the bill. The man behind her interrupted and said, "It's ok, I'll get the balance." Chloe went on to write me, "It's a nice world we live in. Today reminded me of this."
I think that many times we experience acts of kindness toward us, but our busyness keeps us from truly taking notice. Hopefully your column will help all of us to become more aware. I certainly was this past Monday!
Jennifer Steele
