A Few Short but Sweet Stories

Daniel was walking Webster in the gardens surrounding his apartment house.

A little girl of two or three was very excited to see Webster. Webster was also

very excited to see her and jumped up enough that the little girl became

frightened and started to cry. The mother picked up her child and told Daniel

not to worry. Daniel sat down on the pavement with Webster to show the little

girl that she didn’t need to be afraid, that Webster was gentle. Daniel stayed

there on the sidewalk petting Webster and talking to the little girl until she

became more comfortable and slowly and cautiously came to join them on the

sidewalk. Soon the little girl was laughing as Webster licked her hand. Daniel

could have said that he was sorry and could have left when the little girl started

to cry but he wanted to be sure that this child would not be afraid of dogs in the

future.

Daniel and I were on a subway train into Philadelphia. There was a homeless

man standing in the aisle with bags of belongings. Nearly everyone else on the

train was seated. When the train came to a sudden stop the man fell over. All the

passengers remained seated either not noticing or pretending not to notice the

man’s difficulty. With no hesitation, Daniel jumped up to help the man get up,

collect his bags and get safely off the train.

Daniel was in line behind an elderly woman at the check-out counter at a

pharmacy. He overheard the woman arguing with the pharmacist about the price

of the drug she wanted. She ended up leaving without buying it. Daniel, not

wanting to embarrass her in the store, followed her out to the street. He stopped

her and said that he had overheard her conversation with the pharmacist and

knew how expensive drugs could be. He said that he had just received a bonus

at work and would have no problem getting her prescription for her. Daniel had

not received a bonus but wanted her to feel comfortable in accepting the money.

Observations of Daniel and his sensitivity to those around him.

Daniel had a way of making many of his acquaintances feel important. An elderly

man in his eighties walked by our house every day. He had been a professor at

St. Joseph’s University. Daniel always showed an interest in him and addressed

him as “Professor”. Now I do too.

A car mechanic that Daniel used he called, “Doc.” I’m sure showing that respect

made the mechanic feel good, especially because he had so many physical

limitations.

Two neighbors had cancer. Daniel did not avoid them but spoke to them

comfortably as he always had. He was also kind to the husbands after their

wives died. One of Daniel’s greatest gifts was his ability to make people feel

special.

All of these short stories are indicative of Daniel’s care for those around him,

even when they were strangers or people he did not know well.