Good folks lend a hand (02/16/07)

Every storm brings them out.

You know them, they're the good neighbors. The folks who offer a helping hand. The people who give your car a push when you're stuck in the snow or come by with a snowblower when you're shoveling the walk.

They're always with us, of course. And we usually take them for granted.

But when there's a storm - particularly a winter storm like the one that battered the region the week - they seem to be everywhere.

On Valentine's Day, when the sun popped out and brilliantly lit up the snowfall that had been dumped on the community, it was hard to go anywhere without witnessing acts of courtesy and kindness and neighborliness.

People checked on one another, offered one another lifts, and wished one another a million "be carefuls."

Did someone step up to the plate and go to bat for you this week? Did someone surprise you with their concern or hospitality or generosity this week?

We'd like to hear about it.

For several years, the Cincinnatus League, a local service organization, promoted the idea of "random acts of kindness," those good deeds that often go unheralded.

This week's storm provides the same opportunity. So, drop us a note or send us an e-mail describing those acts of good neighborliness that you might have encountered since the blizzard rolled our way. We'll compile them and share them with our readers.

You can contact us at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 1049 in Portland. Please, no phone calls; it might swamp our switchboard. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]