This column is about “the story behind the story.” Or, to put it more aptly, human interest.
Too often, we ignore the human interest stories that pepper the world and we take for granted what we have that others may lack. These are short snippets from the lives of unique individuals and glimpses into problems that people face:
Giving Families Closure
President Calvin Coolidge once said, “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command lives by this principle. The office rakes through battle sites and areas of conflict to identify Americans listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action. After identifying Americans, the task force forwards its cases to the Mortuary Affairs office to notify next-of-kin and provide, in a touching human gesture, a sense of closure at last.
Small Steps Towards a Brighter Future
Time and time again, we see that obstacles – no matter how seemingly impossible or monumental – can never impair the truly determined.
That message resounds with us once more with the story of Gavin Stevens, a blind 4-year-old diagnosed with Leber’s congenital amaurosis. In this video, Gavin navigates his school’s cur, alone for the first time. His parents, founders of the Gaven R. Stevens Foundation which raises funds for research into the disease, hope the video of his navigating the street will inspire other children like Gavin.
Learning CPR
In a time of crisis, any one person’s actions can determine if the crisis will turn to tragedy.
Some Connecticut residents are beginning to realize this as they participate in Heartsafe, a program designed to teach ordinary residents to be skilled in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillation (AED). Meant to empower everyday citizens, the program aims to encourage more people to help out in the community by learning how to handle emergencies.
