Editor:

In these days of a government instilling in us heightened fear of everyone and everything, we have reached a point of often doubting even those around us – our own neighbors and fellow residents. 

I was riding my scooter (now for sale, by the way) across the Casco Bay Bridge on Tuesday night when I had a flat tire. It was frightening to be alone in the bike lane, in the dark, pushing a rather heavy piece of equipment. With a helmet securely fastened, I was unidentifiable, for sure. 

A truck stopped in front of me and my heart skipped a beat – who will this be? Will I be hurt? Should I even talk to him/her? A man stepped out and asked, “Do you need help?” I recognized the voice, although he could not see me. “Is that you, John?” I asked. “Yes,” came the answer, “Who are you?” I realized in that moment that John Hasson was stopping to do what he does – offer a hand to someone in need, not having any care whether he knew the person or not. 

My scooter was too heavy to lift and I was halfway across the bridge, so I told him I would push it home. He offered to follow behind me, to be sure I was safe. I thanked him – not enough – for his kind gestures. 

After he left, I continued on and another vehicle pulled in front of me again. It was a big white car with funny paint streaks on it, and I wondered again, “What do I do?” The voice emerging made the same offer and again, I recognized it. “Zoo, it’s me, Rosemarie,” I said. “Are you ok? How can I help?” Zoo Cain asked. He offered to drive me home, to get more folks to lift the scooter onto a truck, to help in any way he could. Again, I convinced him I was OK. 

I pushed the scooter the rest of the way home, but as I did, I cried to myself. Yes, part of my tears was because I hate getting flat tires, but most of my tears were those that recognized how blessed I am. Two people stopped to help, not having any idea that I was someone either one of them knew, but just stopping to be kind, considerate, and helpful – to see someone crossing the bridge in distress and deciding not to leave them there alone, not just drive by and think, “Gee, poor person, I wonder what happened?” but instead to stop and find out. 

Two people stopped who made a huge contribution to the social capital of our community. Each of these men stopped simply to offer a hand, to get nothing in return. Each was hesitant to leave me there and only did so when I assured him I was close to home and would be safe. 

For all of that, I am grateful. I am aware that the world is a good place, with good people, with good intentions. I am aware that we need to trust more and doubt less; that we need to give more and ask for little; that we need to set aside our assumptions, our doubts, our fears and trust that there still are people who care about their fellow citizens. 

My most heartfelt thanks to John Hasson and Zoo Cain, not just for caring, but for taking the time to show you care. You have given me hope and increased my faith in the goodness of those around us. I owe both of you a great deal. You cannot begin to know what your actions meant to me. To me, this is the definition of a great person and no other act is greater than when one reaches out to another human being.

Rosemarie DeAngelis

South Portland