photo filled the screen under the headline: “Local Doctor Dies Saving Children From Fire.” Tears blurred my vision. That boy who once helped us without expecting anything had lived that same spirit. Even in his last moments, he put others first.
That day I finally understood what he meant by “pass it on.” Kindness isn’t something you repay to the giver — it’s a seed planted in one heart to bloom in another. His story didn’t die in that fire.
It lived on in those he saved, in my wife and me, and in everyone who hears it.
Now, whenever I see someone in need — a stranded driver, a stranger needing help — I stop. Not because I owe him.