Dear editor,
Let me start this note by writing that my faith in mankind was rekindled after a recent visit to Warren. I traveled back recently with my 2 sons (age 6 and 9) to visit my parents. I grew up in Warren and always treasure bringing them "home" to experience the great things I did as a child (fishing, hiking, camping, etc.). Last Saturday in between rain drops I brought them to Chapman Dam to catch salamanders, tadpoles and turtles. It was a very successful outing! That is until we got home and realized my eldest son left his I-Touch. The exact I-Touch he was using to take photos with to share with his friends back home. In order to try and rescue his memories of not just that day but the previous day's outing at the Kinzua Dam, I drove back in a torrential downpour to gather it from the tree stump he remembered leaving it on. Unfortunately it was gone and when I arrived back to my parent's house to break the news he was in tears (I must admit I shed a few on my way back knowing his heart would be broken).
I brought him into my parent's living room and sat on the couch to offer counsel and remind him that perhaps someone turned it into the park office, and we would call in the morning to check. He quickly blurted out there is no way someone would do that and that people aren't that nice. As if a cue in the movies, he no sooner gets done making that statement and my phone cell phone rings. It was the person who found the I-Touch! He brought it home and went through the Apple website to track down the owner! The kindness didn't stop there as this gentleman and his wife drove it to the McDonalds where we met them to retrieve "the memories" On top of that he also had the binoculars that my youngest son left behind!
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This was such a refreshing reminder (and lesson for my children) that good deeds are not extinct (especially in Warren County). I left out the part that I work in New York City where nobody has the time of day to even say hello.
Thanks to Warren County for always being so grounded in what really matters.
Kindest regards,
Mike, Matthew and Nathaniel Downey
Westfield, N.J.