OUR DESPERATE NEED FOR COMMUNITY

Last week in Hartford, Conn, a 78-year old man was struck in a hit and run. That is not the worst of it. For over one minute, passing cars and pedestrians looked at his paralyzed body in the street and passed by. No one called 9-1-1. No one. Not one person took responsibility, behaved as a member of their community, and helped this injured man.

Back in 1992 (a few weeks before the LA Riots, another story in community responsibility), riding my bicycle home from work, I was struck by a car. I flew backwards off the bike, landing in the street on my rear and injuring my spine (in fact, the first lumbar vertebrae was slightly crushed). It could have been much worse. Thank God it was not. Like this man, I sat in the intersection, terrified of moving as cars passed by, some barely missing me. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, one driver asked if I needed help and called 9-1-1. All the while, the uninsured motorist that hit me stood on the sidewalk, telling me I really should get out of the street.

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