Kindness From Her Heart

Saturday morning found me busy with several goals. The refreshing weather seemed to put everyone in a better mood as they looked forward to their weekend plans.

I found a good parking place in front of Malden’s Walmart, a store that serves thousands of people throughout Malden and the surrounding Bootheel. It provides needed services and employment for many hard-working citizens in our community.

As I walked toward the north entrance, I found myself just behind a lady entering at about the same time. I turned, smiled, and recognized someone I knew. We both sauntered into the entrance foyer.

She smiled and said, “I really enjoy the Bootheel Beacon.”

Those few words meant more than she probably realized.

I thanked her and told her how much comments like that encourage all of us at the Bootheel Beacon to continue reporting the stories of our communities and the people who call the Bootheel home.

Then another lady, wearing a wonderful smile, spoke up.

“I enjoy it too. You are David?”

“Yes,” I replied, and thanked her profusely. In the whirl of shopping carts and people moving through the entrance, I missed the opportunity to speak with her longer.

But the moment stayed with me.

These small encounters can be deeply moving.

I continued shopping, occasionally pulling the note from my pocket to make sure I was buying the right things. My shopping trips tend to include a little meandering. There are smiles, polite pardons, and the familiar maneuvering we all do as shoppers make their way through narrow aisles searching for that one particular item.

Near the end of my shopping trip, after finally finding the right laundry pods, I turned and saw Ms. Carol Townsend walking toward me.

She said, “You know, I know you are looking for donations on the website, and I thought my donation would help.”

She explained that she wasn’t sure whom to make the check out to.

I told her that her contribution would be a donation and would be deposited into the Malden Historical Museum account.

Again, I was deeply moved. I thanked her several times and wished her a great weekend. I thought, these are the moments that remind me why the work matters.

The Bootheel Beacon exists because people believe local stories are worth telling. The Malden Historical Museum continues because people believe our history is worth preserving. Neither effort is sustained simply by a website, a newspaper story, an exhibit, or a building. People who care sustain them.

I often tell people that this is what keeps the Bootheel Beacon reporters working and helps keep the Malden Historical Museum vital.

We work hard to give our readers stories they may already know in some way — because these are their stories, too.

They are stories about their neighbors, their schools, their businesses, their families, their history, and their home.

Sometimes encouragement comes through a donation.

Sometimes it comes through a few simple words spoken beside a shopping cart on a Saturday morning:

“I really enjoy the Bootheel Beacon and the photographs you take and share on the Bootheel Beacon."

And sometimes kindness from the heart is all the encouragement we need to keep going. Thanks, Ms. Dorothy Townsend; you've got a heart of gold.

Thanks to everyone who has donated to keep the Bootheel Beacon free for everyone to share and enjoy reading their hometown news. The Bootheel Beacon staff will continue to support all communities with honest, fair reporting. Thank you to our advertisers for continuing to support the Bootheel Beacon.