Opinion: Dear, little Elijah: Always remember to show kindness

Ruby Spurlock felt the icy cold wind that morning as she rushed to her car to meet a friend for coffee at Muleshoe's Dinner Bell.

As she drove onto the road, she saw a young man she knew as her neighbor. She knew he was on his way to school, so she stopped and gave him a ride.

She was always willing to help a young person who appeared to be trying to get somewhere. The coffee could wait.

That was in the winter of maybe 1979.

In the spring of 1981, Buck Johnson received a call from a young fellow he'd known when they both lived in Muleshoe.

The kid, who sometimes did not attend to certain details as closely as he should, was calling from the SAT testing center in Lubbock.

In his rush to get to Lubbock from Muleshoe, the young man had left his ID behind. He could take the college entrance exam anyway, if someone could vouch for his identity.

Johnson, who lived in Lubbock at the time, stepped up. The issue was resolved in about 45 minutes, and the kid got into college.

Charles Bratcher, a longtime resident and businessman in Muleshoe, took a call on Christmas Day in 1983. It was from a young serviceman on leave. The airman's vehicle had broken down and needed a fan belt.

Bratcher was in the middle of celebrating the holiday with his family, but something in his heart could not ignore the call for help. He rescued the stranded airman.

The young man, of course, was me.

I'm a grandfather now, with hope and joy in this season because so many have been there for me through the years.

If there is one truth I hope to pass down to little Elijah, it is this:

Never underestimate the value of kindness.

Julius Briscoe is an Air Force veteran and a native of Muleshoe. You can contact him at:

[email protected]