A warning, this story has a very bittersweet ending.... but I believe it still has the power to renew one's faith in humanity.
Many New Yorkers get a bad rap. A lot of people point to the huge city as a place where people have lost their concern for their fellow man. A place where people won't stop to help another person in trouble.
About thirty people blew that perception out of the water just this past week.
On Thursday, Donnette Sanz left her desk at the New York Police Department to head out to lunch. Sanz normally served as a traffic agent with the department--- directing traffic and issuing parking tickets--- but had been placed on administrative duty when she became pregnant. As of last week, she was seven months along.
She walked out of the Bronx office and waited for the light at one of the busiest intersections in the borough. The light changed. She started to cross.
She didn't notice a van barreling toward the intersection. The van's driver would later say that his brakes failed. And police reports would indicate that the brakes had indeed deteriorated to the point that the van was unsafe to drive. The driver says he saw Sanz but couldn't stop.
The impact threw Sanz in front of a moving yellow school bus (no children were inside). And she became pinned underneath.
The crowd immediately rushed into action. Witnesses say that people converged from all directions and just started trying to lift the school bus. In all, it took about thirty people to make the superhuman effort. They eventually lifted the 5-ton bus off of Sanz, and someone pulled her out. She was still alive.
An ambulance rushed her to the hospital, where doctors performed a C-section. Little Sean weighed only 3 pounds, 6 ounces, but doctors say he is showing signs of improvement.
Donette was alive for the birth. But passed away about an hour later.
Still, her family says they are grateful to those who rushed to help her. While the loss of Donnette is great--- without the quick action of people who didn't even know her, the family also would have lost Sean.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Power of Thanks
As promised, this is a story as told to me by my friend--- who I mention in the previous post:
"Three months ago, I was in Dallas in a hotel, where I saw the name tag of a former student of mine, taking a course that I taught on the internet. I approached her and confirmed that I indeed had recognized the correct person.
I asked her about my course. She expressed delight in what she had learned but especially the final assignment in urban issues that I had required. It was to express thankfulness to her city for mediating goodness and grace in some symbolic way. Because she works at a 'rescue mission' for the homeless, she decided to walk the streets of the worst section of her city and pray God's grace and kindness in front of every home that she passed. According to her, her husband was very upset that she would risk walking in the hood, but she did so anyway.
Then she decided she needed to express thanks and pray for the top city administrators who bear the burden of such communities, and requested an appointment with the mayor. His secretary, after much hassle conceded her 5 minutes. When she arrived, she was ushered into his office and thanked him for his services to the community. She said that he was shocked, in that generally people come at him with complaints or demands. Suddenly his apprehension turned into warmth. As she volunteered for pray for God's strength in his many difficult responsibilities, he suggested that his staff join him for the prayer. Soon word got out and the Chief of Police wanted a similar time with her . . .and the superintendent of schools. They were all astonished that a regular citizen should care for each of them in this way.
She said that a strange turn has occurred since then, concerning the relationship of the mission to the community. Previously what had been a detached, often confrontative relationship between the city and the mission, now became one of mutual support and interest, with government officials now considering the mission a friendly ally, with benefits to both. And just that week, the mayor had called her to ask for special prayer for his sick wife."
"Three months ago, I was in Dallas in a hotel, where I saw the name tag of a former student of mine, taking a course that I taught on the internet. I approached her and confirmed that I indeed had recognized the correct person.
I asked her about my course. She expressed delight in what she had learned but especially the final assignment in urban issues that I had required. It was to express thankfulness to her city for mediating goodness and grace in some symbolic way. Because she works at a 'rescue mission' for the homeless, she decided to walk the streets of the worst section of her city and pray God's grace and kindness in front of every home that she passed. According to her, her husband was very upset that she would risk walking in the hood, but she did so anyway.
Then she decided she needed to express thanks and pray for the top city administrators who bear the burden of such communities, and requested an appointment with the mayor. His secretary, after much hassle conceded her 5 minutes. When she arrived, she was ushered into his office and thanked him for his services to the community. She said that he was shocked, in that generally people come at him with complaints or demands. Suddenly his apprehension turned into warmth. As she volunteered for pray for God's strength in his many difficult responsibilities, he suggested that his staff join him for the prayer. Soon word got out and the Chief of Police wanted a similar time with her . . .and the superintendent of schools. They were all astonished that a regular citizen should care for each of them in this way.
She said that a strange turn has occurred since then, concerning the relationship of the mission to the community. Previously what had been a detached, often confrontative relationship between the city and the mission, now became one of mutual support and interest, with government officials now considering the mission a friendly ally, with benefits to both. And just that week, the mayor had called her to ask for special prayer for his sick wife."
Renewed Spirit
I'm back. Promise. And I will update regularly now. And will also set aside more time to respond to comments.
I've figured out that I'm supposed to be concentrating on this.
For those of you who don't know, after a six month hiatus from working (i.e., trying to figure out what to do with my life), I finally found a new job doing something I love. Teaching. :) I am coaching and teaching people how to effectively get their messages across to the media.
Unfortunately, it has taken up much of my time--- since I've never done it before! Establishing curricula and learning the ins and outs of coaching students has been a challenge, to say the least. I've had a lot of 18-hour work days in the past four weeks.
I'm more settled now. So I will now resume the blog--- and plan to resume it regularly. And I really thank everyone for sticking around (if you're still here). ;)
My next story will come via a friend of mine. In order to understand the significance of this story, I think I need to tell you a bit about my friend.
In August 2003, I planned a trip to visit my mother in North Carolina. My son was around six months old, and was actually a pretty good air traveler at that point (much better than when he reached the age of two). ;)
My son and I sat next to a very kind looking man. I have to admit I was a little preoccupied with the kiddo, so didn't really chat. Until something very unusual happened.
As we taxied out to the runway, the plane pulled over to the side and stopped, and the pilot turned off the engines. His voice filled the PA system.
"Um, this is going to sound a bit unusual, but our flight is on hold right now because of storms over Cincinnati." We had a scheduled layover in Ohio. "What's really strange is that it's not the system itself that's holding us up--- it's the fact that lightning has struck the runway. So workers are now checking damage, and will let us know soon if we have clearance to take off."
I've been flying regularly since I was a child--- a result of divorced parents who lived in different states. I've never heard of lightning striking a runway. I'm sure it happens, but it had never happened to delay one of my flights.
I became a little worried about my son. He was a good baby, and actually fell asleep when the plane started to move. When the plane stopped, though... he was wide awake. The man next to me looked over at him, and started up a conversation about his own grandchildren.
We moved from talking about family to discussing work. He told me he was a theology professor. I told him I was a TV journalist. We started to discuss --- you got it --- good news and the power of good news. :) I had always wanted to report more of it, and he had always wanted to see more of it.
He told me he spent much of his time traveling all over the world (as a matter of fact, he is out of the country right now as I write this) and he sees good news happening on a regular basis.
So it turns out the lightning had a purpose. We had plenty of time to talk about our passion for good news. Much more time than we would have had otherwise. Once we were up in the air, the trip wasn't that long.
We emailed each other a few times after that trip. He would tell me about stories he found particularly enlightening and heartening. I would pitch those story ideas to my managers, who would always turn it down. They didn't have time for enlightening and heartening. There were too many crime stories we had to cover.
Now you see why I'm no longer in news.
We lost touch eventually. I moved to another state and took one more news job before I decided I had to leave the business.
I wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to figure out what to do next. I started this blog, but found myself unable to keep it up regularly. Then something happened to remind me about the importance of good news. :)
I was pretty good friends with my last co-anchor. He and I kept in touch after I left the station. I would try to give him advice on how to handle certain things at work that were frustrating him.
Earlier this year, he took some time off from work to make a trip to China. He was there to observe a forum of theological experts. On his way home, he happened to strike up a conversation with one of the participants while they waited at an airport. The conversation moved to news. And good news. And the theologian happened to mention the name of a reporter he once talked to on a plane, one he had really admired.
My colleague says he about fell off of his chair.
Names and notes were exchanged. A couple of weeks later, I received an email from my former co-anchor asking about having lunch to talk about how things were going. At that lunch, he handed me a note. And the rest is history. :)
I have heard from my theology friend a number of times since then. He sent me a story I plan on publishing later this evening, and plans on sending me more.
That conversation we started five years ago this month is now coming to fruition. Just goes to show, even when one door seems to close... a window always remains open. :)
I've figured out that I'm supposed to be concentrating on this.
For those of you who don't know, after a six month hiatus from working (i.e., trying to figure out what to do with my life), I finally found a new job doing something I love. Teaching. :) I am coaching and teaching people how to effectively get their messages across to the media.
Unfortunately, it has taken up much of my time--- since I've never done it before! Establishing curricula and learning the ins and outs of coaching students has been a challenge, to say the least. I've had a lot of 18-hour work days in the past four weeks.
I'm more settled now. So I will now resume the blog--- and plan to resume it regularly. And I really thank everyone for sticking around (if you're still here). ;)
My next story will come via a friend of mine. In order to understand the significance of this story, I think I need to tell you a bit about my friend.
In August 2003, I planned a trip to visit my mother in North Carolina. My son was around six months old, and was actually a pretty good air traveler at that point (much better than when he reached the age of two). ;)
My son and I sat next to a very kind looking man. I have to admit I was a little preoccupied with the kiddo, so didn't really chat. Until something very unusual happened.
As we taxied out to the runway, the plane pulled over to the side and stopped, and the pilot turned off the engines. His voice filled the PA system.
"Um, this is going to sound a bit unusual, but our flight is on hold right now because of storms over Cincinnati." We had a scheduled layover in Ohio. "What's really strange is that it's not the system itself that's holding us up--- it's the fact that lightning has struck the runway. So workers are now checking damage, and will let us know soon if we have clearance to take off."
I've been flying regularly since I was a child--- a result of divorced parents who lived in different states. I've never heard of lightning striking a runway. I'm sure it happens, but it had never happened to delay one of my flights.
I became a little worried about my son. He was a good baby, and actually fell asleep when the plane started to move. When the plane stopped, though... he was wide awake. The man next to me looked over at him, and started up a conversation about his own grandchildren.
We moved from talking about family to discussing work. He told me he was a theology professor. I told him I was a TV journalist. We started to discuss --- you got it --- good news and the power of good news. :) I had always wanted to report more of it, and he had always wanted to see more of it.
He told me he spent much of his time traveling all over the world (as a matter of fact, he is out of the country right now as I write this) and he sees good news happening on a regular basis.
So it turns out the lightning had a purpose. We had plenty of time to talk about our passion for good news. Much more time than we would have had otherwise. Once we were up in the air, the trip wasn't that long.
We emailed each other a few times after that trip. He would tell me about stories he found particularly enlightening and heartening. I would pitch those story ideas to my managers, who would always turn it down. They didn't have time for enlightening and heartening. There were too many crime stories we had to cover.
Now you see why I'm no longer in news.
We lost touch eventually. I moved to another state and took one more news job before I decided I had to leave the business.
I wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to figure out what to do next. I started this blog, but found myself unable to keep it up regularly. Then something happened to remind me about the importance of good news. :)
I was pretty good friends with my last co-anchor. He and I kept in touch after I left the station. I would try to give him advice on how to handle certain things at work that were frustrating him.
Earlier this year, he took some time off from work to make a trip to China. He was there to observe a forum of theological experts. On his way home, he happened to strike up a conversation with one of the participants while they waited at an airport. The conversation moved to news. And good news. And the theologian happened to mention the name of a reporter he once talked to on a plane, one he had really admired.
My colleague says he about fell off of his chair.
Names and notes were exchanged. A couple of weeks later, I received an email from my former co-anchor asking about having lunch to talk about how things were going. At that lunch, he handed me a note. And the rest is history. :)
I have heard from my theology friend a number of times since then. He sent me a story I plan on publishing later this evening, and plans on sending me more.
That conversation we started five years ago this month is now coming to fruition. Just goes to show, even when one door seems to close... a window always remains open. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
