As fate would have it, however, the day got worse. Chloe at one point tried to bolt into a ditch in front of a neighbor's house. As I pulled her back I looked into the ditch. There was a black squirrel laying near the drainage pipe. It was able to move it's head and front legs, but its back legs were frozen. Apparently, it had been hit by a car and was partially paralyzed.
As I watched the poor thing struggle and tried to figure out what to do, I almost started to cry. With the incredible amount of disturbing news in the world coupled with the helplessness of this poor creature right in front of me, there felt like an incredible weight was on top of me.
Then an odd thought popped into my head. It was Mr. Rogers.
A few years back in the the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, I had heard a quote from The Mr. Roger's Parenting Book about how to help children cope with frightening situations: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
As an adult, we would all like to imagine ourselves as the "helpers." In any disaster, there will be those who run away (or stand there and film the unfolding tragedy on their phone) and some who are frozen with fear, confusion or horror. But there will always be those selfless people who charge head-on into the chaos. Often these people are firefighters, police or EMTs. But on many occasions, they are ordinary citizens who leap into action without a second thought.Right now, I was not a helper. I was frozen in a world that was overwhelming on both a large and a small scale. With no "helpers" in sight.
After about a minute, I realized I could indeed be a helper for that poor squirrel. I called the non-emergency number for our township police department and explained the situation to the dispatcher who answered. She had me give the address of the house and a detailed description of where the squirrel was located and assured me she would contact Animal Control to take care of it.
But the reality remains that there really is no good advice for adults when we face situations that seem, on a national or global scale, overwhelming. And much of the news today is certainly overwhelming. Sure, it is possible to tackle the problem on a small scale. Volunteer. Get out and vote. Do your part to make the change you want to see. But in the moment that the entire world seems to be out of control and the only people running in are trying to make the situation worse, where do you find the helpers?
But this is where the definition of "helper" can be expanded. Sure, "helpers" are people who jump in and render aid. But they are also incredible examples of selflessness and humanity. And despite the current political culture and the endless stream of bad news, there are still plenty of those in the world.
A quick internet search will reveal thousands of them. How many times do we see those people who--in the wake of hurricanes and massive floods--hitch up their fishing boats and drive hours to help rescue both people and animals who are stranded? And I am certain no one is asking about the race, religion, sexual orientation or political affiliation of either the rescuers or the victims they help.
I read a story just yesterday about a couple whose dog escaped from a hotel while they were on vacation and disappeared. The woman in the story quit her job in an effort to find her dog. And she was aided by an entire community who were essentially strangers to her. The hotel owner distributed "Lost Dog" flyers and fielded calls. Farmers allowed her to search their property and put out live traps. A local couple gave her a place to stay free of charge. And many people in the community would go out with her, day after day, while she searched. When the dog was found 57 days after she disappeared, it was with the help of a woman who saw a dog matching the description wandering through her backyard. The video of the dog returning home, recognizing her driveway and seeing the woman's husband for the first time in almost two months is priceless. The dog's exuberance as it yips, bounds around the car excitedly and wags its tail is enough to make you laugh and cry at the same time.
Just this morning, I saw a story of a 10-year-old girl with spina bifida who was unable to attend a class field trip to locate fossils because the area was not wheelchair accessible. When the girl's mother obtained a harness that could be strapped onto the back of an adult in which she could ride, one of the girl's teachers offered to carry her on his back. This young girl was able to join her classmates to search for fossils because of the dedication of one of her teachers. If a story like that doesn't restore your faith in humanity, nothing will.
The fact is that there are some situations in which even adults can feel overwhelmed and frightened. It's not always possible to be a "helper." Sometimes even grown-ups need to look for them. But they are there. When the world seems to be falling apart, there is a story out there about those people who are going above and beyond simply to put a small corner of it back together. And restore our faith in each other in the process.
There is hope for us after all.
So from now on, when I am faced with a world that seems out of control, I will take Mr. Rogers' advice.
Look for the helpers. They will always be there.
