"Well Done"

By Tom Ehrich

I was crossing Times Square on 47th Street this morning, when I noticed a blind woman feeling for something solid and trying to get her bearings at a busy corner. Her guide dog was distracted.

“May I help you?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I need to get across this terrible intersection.”

I took her arm and led her across Broadway.

It was a small act. People do this all the time here. It was what happened next that took my breath away.

As I resumed my walk to work, I heard a crackle to my left and noticed a large fire truck idling at the intersection.

“Well done,” said the driver over his external speaker.

Those two words meant the world to me. I have enormous respect for the firefighters of New York and the heroism they show every day in moving toward danger.

This is a better city because its first-responders set a model of selflessness. When we pass it on, in small ways and large, the air gets fresher, even in Times Square.

And when we see each other’s kindnesses and say, “Well done,” heaven itself opens.