kennethbaucum

Sometimes it's hard to know what to do.  Sometimes there's a social barrier that makes it difficult.  Once in a while, you know what to do, there's nothing stopping you -- but yourself.  Your muscles freeze up, you just stand there staring.  Sure you want to help, but you can't -- your body doesn't want to.

That was tonight.  But I had backup. Let's take it from the top.

A little girl (and I mean little...try 4 or 5 years old) was running across a large parking lot in a shopping center.  Every few feet she'd stop and look back behind her, as if running from trouble.  I glanced her way, but didn't look for lok, thinking there'd be one of her parents behind her with the claws and play-scary face trying to catch her.  But there was no one.  I looked, watched and thought.  Something's not right here.  A little girl, no parents, no supervision, busy parking lot, and all of this not in one of the best parts of town.

As I watched, my coworker used his brain.  He had a different point of view.  He was in the dirver's seat and saw her in his rear-view mirror while backingout of his parking space.  He actually never started moving.  for me, I was ready and willing to stop him from running her over, but couldn't bring myself to take action to find why she was there in the first place.  He got out and called the police, and got back in his truck and followed her to the gas station at the corner.

The girl was helpless and scared.  He asked her if she was lost, she was.  Her mother had goten upset and told her to go back to daddy's house -- which happened to be across the parking lot and a major street, not to mention the side streets that link those together.  As best I could tell, dad was at least a quarter mile away.  And she was alone.

A lady pulled up to my coworker as he calmed the little girl down and gave her a comforting smile.  The lady offered a hoodie and waited with them until the police arrived.  The police tookthe girl to dad's house then when to ask moma few questions.

I don't know her name, but pray for her family.  And for my coworker, Jay, thanks for doing what's right and giving help and hope to a little girl when it may not have been easy.