I believe this has become such a sensational story because the moment was captured unbeknown to the officer and the man he was helping. I hope this story will serve as a reminder to all of us that a simple act of compassion, regardless of whether anyone else ever sees it, can have a real positve impact for a fellow human being.
On a cold November night in Times Square, Officer Lawrence DePrimo was working a counterterrorism post when he encountered an older, barefooted homeless man. The officer disappeared for a moment, then returned with a new pair of boots, and knelt to help the man put them on.
The act of kindness would have gone unnoticed and mostly forgotten, had it not been for a tourist from Arizona.
This is what I mean, had this woman from Arizona never “recorded” this exchange, for eternity, this act of kindess would have been a solitary moment in time. Instead, the whole world can revel in this officers kindness, wondering, , if WE would have noticed this man who had no home with blisters on his feet.
The officer, normally assigned to the Sixth Precinct in the West Village, readily recalled the encounter. “It was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet,” he said in an interview. “I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” They started talking; he found out the man’s shoe size: 12.
As the man walked slowly down Seventh Avenue on his heels, Officer DePrimo went into a Skechers shoe store at about 9:30 p.m. “We were just kind of shocked,” said Jose Cano, 28, a manager working at the store that night. “Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing. Especially in this neighborhood.”
I hope, instead of vicariously relishing in this moment of compassion, that we will challenge ourselves to find OUR better angels and help a fellow soul in need.
What a wonderful thing. This is an inspiration.
No clearer statement of “This is what you should do.” can there be.