Conference hydra::dejavu

1895.0. "The compassionate stranger" by CSC32::K_JOHNSON (Kevin Johnson / Colorado CSC) Tue Nov 02 1993 01:14

Lynn, a friend of mine living near Laguna Beach CA, related this story to me;
I though I would share it.

As everyone who has seen the national news recently knows, parts of southern
California were recently devastated by a firestorm that authorities there
believe may have been caused by arson. Thousands of people have lost their homes.

Miraculously, no lives were lost. Lynn was one of the more fortunate; although
many homes in her neighborhood were destroyed, her's escaped unscathed.

One of her nearby neighbors, an elderly lady named Anne, was taking care of
her eight year old granddaughter (Kelly) at the time the fire struck.

Although many people were evaculated, the unpredictability of the Santa Ana
winds driving this firestorm made it impossible for the most part to predict
it's path. Some homeowners made determined efforts to save their property if
they could; other's were simply caught by surprise in one of the many rapid
changes in the fire's direction. 

Lynn was on her roof, hosing it down in an effort to protect it from the
oncoming flames when she heard Anne frantically calling out Kelly's name.
By this time, the fire was raging through the houses on her block, and Anne's
house was burning fiercely. Hurrying to her neighbor's side, Lynn learned that
Kelly was still trapped inside the burning house. Already overcome with smoke
and terror, Anne was hysterically screaming out Kelly's name. Lynn told me 
that the heat from the burning buildings was so intense that they both were
being singed from 20 yards away, and they could hardly see through the smoke.

Suddenly a "young man who looked to be in his twenties", whom neither Lynn
nor Anne had seen before, was asking them what was wrong. When Anne told him
that her granddaughter was trapped inside, the stranger ran into the blazing
home, with only a wet t-shirt held before his face for protection.

After what seemed to them to be a long time, the young man returned carrying
Kelly, who was coughing and choking, but obviously alive. The house was
completely consummed shortly after.

All of this occured before firemen or paramedics, spread extreamly
thin by the size and scope of the disaster, could arrive. Kelly and her
grandmother were later treated for minor smoke inhallation and 2nd degree burns,
and subsequently released. 

Their mysterious benefactor dissappeared as suddenly as he arrived, leaving
no name or clue to his identity. 

Anne and Kelly don't know why this man appeared out of nowhere and risked his
life to save a perfect stranger. But Kelly knows she owes him her life.
They don't know if they'll ever find their "compassionate stranger", although
they will try. And whether or not they do, they'll certainly never forget him,
Anne says.

Although we may not go a day without seeing or hearing another example of
mankind's potential for greed, cruelity, or violence; it's instructive to
reflect on the heroic and courageous acts that are just as much a part of our
existance.

And on the certain knowledge that the potential to be a compassionate stranger
lies within the grasp of each of us.

Kevin

    Kevin:
    
    Thanks for sharing that.  Guardian angel?
    
    

    It may also have been one of the fires known heros: a young man on a
    bicycle, rejected by fire departments for a bad back, but still wanting
    to be a fireman.  He anonymously helped quite a few folks.

    Human or otherwise, he *is* an Angel......
    
    Marilyn