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| New York City Police Officer Helps Homeless Man |
Since everything can feel exaggerated during the holidays, doing one kind act can affect change and make a difference in someone else's life. Many times when I pass a homeless person on the street, especially if it's a woman, I think, "There but for the grace of God go I."
If I can, I give money or food. But the story below about the actions of a New York City police officer shows there is the opportunity to go further. So many times we read or hear about the negative side of life; the violence and disrespect towards each other.
And then someone jumps out and performs a simple act of human kindness.
This story is what the holiday spirit is all about and it challenges me and, perhaps you, to do one kind thing for someone else this holiday season. Just one. I donate clothes and canned goods but I can do more.
Maybe it's a smile you give to a co-worker you don't like or maybe you call a friend or a relative you haven't spoken to in a long time. Maybe you rake a neighbor's leaves or maybe you bring a meal to someone who has just lost a loved one.
It's up to you. Your kind act probably won't go viral as this one did, but you gave of yourself and helped another person and that's also what life is all about.
NYPD officer's act of kindness goes viral on Facebook
Published November 29, 2012
FoxNews.com
Jennifer Foster, a Florence, Ariz., tourist, posted a photograph of the officer giving a homeless man a pair of boots and socks on a frigid night in Times Square on Nov. 17.
"'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you,"' Foster quoted DePrimo as saying to the homeless man. "The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching."
The image became an instant hit on the NYPD's Facebook page. More than 308,861 users "liked" his generosity as of Thursday morning.
Newsday identified him as Larry DePrimo of Holbrook, Long Island. He's assigned to the 6th Precinct in Manhattan.
The homeless man said he'd never had a pair of shoes. DePrimo purchased a pair of insulated boots and thermal socks and put them on the man's feet.
DePrimo said the man "smiled from ear to ear. It was like you gave him a million dollars."
He told The New York Times that "it was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet. I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” He learned the man's shoe size was 12.
The police officer went into a nearby Sketchers shoe store and the manager offered him his employees' discount, which brought the price of the boots from $100 to $75, the paper reported.
"Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing," Jose Cano, 28, a manager at the store, told the Times. "Especially in this neighborhood."
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