January 24, 2020
Kindness in the Storm
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.
Amelia Earhart
When the weather turned violent at Camp Crooked Creek, my son Sam found himself crouched in a latrine. Being sentimental, Sam pulled out his notebook and began penning a note. “Dear Mom and Dad,” he wrote. “I might die in a tornado and I don’t know if you will be able to read this because I’m writing from the latrine. Don’t wonder how I died while in shelter, because this is just a shack pretending to be a building.”
The letter was hand-delivered to our front door midweek. Ben, who had just graduated from high school the week before, held out some folded pieces of paper. “I told Sam I would give you this letter.” I took the paper and he walked back to his car.
I unfolded the letter. It went on for four pages, a chronicle of the fierce weather with an ominous ending: “If I don’t survive, don’t blame yourselves. You tried to give me a good childhood and you didn’t know Camp Crooked Creek would be hit by a tornado.” I wondered if Sam would ever go to a Boy Scout adventure camp again.
As he was preparing for Camp Crooked Creek this year, Sam didn’t linger on the savage storms. What he remembered most was Ben’s kindness.“I still can’t believe Ben hand-delivered my letter,” Sam said. “It’s not like he really knew me. He just did it to be nice.”
Although most of us don’t hunker in the corner of the latrines when the storms of life hit, I think the world will always be better if we respond like Ben and are nice to one another when life gets fierce.
Ruth Ayres
Lead Contributor, Choice Literacy
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