Charles and Olive Scamihorn have lived on
The last of August Charles took Olive to the beauty shop. Not feeling well, he asked a friend if she would bring Olive home. Charles drove himself home and after he got out of the car, he dropped his house key. When he bent over to pick it up, he fell – half on the sidewalk and half in the street. Unable to get up, he lay there.
Charles heard the screech of air brakes close to him. A semi driver jumped out of his truck and lifted Charles up. The driver wouldn’t leave until he had helped Charles into the house, helped him to get undressed and into bed. Charles thanked him over and over. When Charles asked what he owed him, the semi driver pointed to the cap Charles always wears—a WW II & Korean War cap with the five battle stars that he had earned. “You’ve paid already,” the driver said. “It’s a privilege to help an old soldier.”
Charles knows the man only as Roscoe, and that’s all he knows about him. Roscoe ignored all the cars honking outside the door because his semi was sitting in the street for as long as it took to help Charles, then he left.
When Charles and Olive moved here they were the youngest couple in the neighborhood. Now they are one of the oldest ones. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more people were as compassionate as Roscoe was? What might have happened if he had not stopped?
If you have any human interest stories to share, please e-mail me at richard_mitchell_401@comcast.net
From the BPNA Neighborhood News, published October 2007