‘What a wonderful world it could be’

BY LARRY WHITELY

I watch the CBS Evening News almost every Friday. Not for the news. I watch it to see their short segment, “On the Road with Steve Hartman,” that ends the news on Fridays. They show good people and good things happening in our world.

A few weeks ago I sat down to watch On the Road. It was a story about a little boy with dark skin, black curly hair and a big smile, named Roman. I had also been following his mother’s posts about him and his white skinned, white-haired senior citizen neighbors on Facebook.

Steve Hartman said, “Not many children crave connection more than 4-year-old Roman. If you pass by his house in Concord, North Carolina, he will greet you with a wave, a smile, and a ‘hi.’ 

"He wakes up every day excited to say 'hi' and wave to somebody. That's the first thing he wants to do," his mother, Anna, said. “And yet,” Steve said, “For the longest time, Roman's cheeriness belied an inner loneliness. About a year ago, his parents broke up. His father moved to Florida, and his grandparents lived out of state.”

“Fortunately, all those seeds of kindness he had planted began to bloom. It started with the senior citizen neighbor who lives across the street from Roman. He went over to meet the boy who was always waving at him. They started doing things together. Eventually, other senior citizen neighbors followed suit. They would all stop and chat or even take part in all kinds of activities Roman came up with.”

“His mom said it was initially a bit strange because she barely knew any of these people. I didn't really know how to take it," she said. "I just saw that my son was happy."

“Which is why she went along with it when Roman then began inviting them to his soccer, basketball and baseball games. Neighbors came to his swimming lessons and even his preschool open house,” Hartman continued. “Most of them will tell you they would have never gotten to know each other if not for Roman. He brought the whole neighborhood together.”

When it came time for his birthday party, his mom knew the only people she needed to invite were his senior citizen neighbor friends. "He loves having us there, and he'll run up and hug us," one neighbor said. "They've made such an impact on him," Mom said. "They are really special people to him and are a big part of our Thanksgiving and Christmas, too."

One neighbor even promised to take him on a fishing trip. Another neighbor is taking him on a camping trip. He is even going to a college football game with Mom and some of the neighbors.

Today, the refrigerator is blanketed with pictures of all those people Roman holds so dear. His mother says his inner loneliness is gone. And his "love thy neighbor" attitude is spreading. Roman has now brought together more neighbors who say they would have barely known each other if not for that little boy, who lived in their neighborhood but needed a village of kindness that changed them all.

Said one neighbor, "Look at what this little boy has done to bring us all together. He holds our hand, tells us he loves us, and gives us a big hug. Another neighbor added, "If the world were like this child, what a wonderful world it could be."

Something to think about

"One kind senior citizen can completely alter a child's life."

 — Unknown

Missouri Ozark native Larry Whiteley has communicated the great outdoors across America for over 40 years through newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, and a nationally syndicated radio show. To read more of his award-winning stories, go to www.storiesbylarry.com. Email him at larrywhiteley2@gmail.com.