Mitzvah watch

Reading Time Magazine I came across the story of Forrest King, a 'self described "dyed-in-the-wool" conservative' from Massachusetts who decided he and his family needed to take in a Katrina refugee family.

"The government failed," says King. "The citizens have to stand up and say 'Get out of the way. We'll take care of our own.'"

So he's been matched through some online service with the Meehan-Hoos, a lesbian couple with three kids.

"The adults are same-sex and I don't care," [King] says. "I don't care if they're purple and got horns coming out of their faces. They're Americans first."

Okay, it's a feel-good story, a little fluffy, and in the same article they point out that some families have had much worse luck taking in strangers (while many have done fine.) But heck, I needed it, the reminder that there are a lot of nice people out there, who watch (even) Fox News and come to the conclusion they need to do a huge mitzvah, rather than tuning out the world. People who may be a teeny bit freaked out about lesbians, but offer them a home because they're Americans and need one.

While I'm on the subject, let me also sing the praises of the blondish woman in the blue Capri pants in downtown San Francisco, who rushed over to a homeless woman who had fallen out of her wheelchair, and helped her get settled again. I was at the corner, weighing the possibilities of helping--safe? Needed? Should I ask one of the stores to call an ambulance? What about the smell of liquor pervading the scene? When this gal walked right up, righted the wheelchair, and helped this woman get back into it.

We have some good people running around out there.