Mar. 29, 2004 - 19:43 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Not Bad

It was a dark and frigid night when a power company employee called the police here in Denver asking them to check on a family who hadn't been able to pay their electric bill. That is a wonder in itself and I wonder if things like that have ever been done here ? That employee's concern was outstanding.

Officer Paul Street went out on the call, "He found a single Mom and her three children hunting through their freezing, pitch black apartment for their belongings after the power company cut their power."

"He used his flashlight to help the family pack their overnight bags for an overnight stay with a relative. Then he reached into his own wallet and paid the power company the $84 necessary to turn the utilities back on. The mother had said that she and her children might have to spend the night bundled up in blankets or in their running car."

"Yvette Crowe, discovered the officer's generosity when she arrived the next morning. She had come by so her son could pick up his basketball uniform and a book for school. The porch light was on. When Crowe went inside, her elctrically powered phone was blinking, signaling that someone had left a message. The voice belonged to Streate, who told her what he had done."

"I was like, "Oh my God.' We were just sitting there in amazement," Crowe said. "I was like, I can't believe that man paid my bill. I was so dumbfounded."

"It was in the single digits. It was absolutely freezing that night," the officer said."

"Crowe said her troubles with the power company started with a hike in heating prices -- her bill jumped nearly $200 from $90 -- and a change in jobs. She attends college and works at Kaiser Permanente. She had just switched from temporary to permanent employment and had to wait two pay cycles for her first check. Crowe who owed several hundred dollars more than the $84 required to keep the power on, applied for relief from the federally funded Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. She had a copy of her application, but the power company's computers didn't reflect the assistance."

"Officer Streate said he decided to help because he was moved by the woman's 16-year-old son, Aaron, who was so thankful as the officer pierced the dark with his flashlight."

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The above mostly from an excerpt of an article in today's Rocky Mountian news -- there is of course more in the article. Easy to fill in a few spaces. She is a mother with three children trying to support her family, doing all in her power to keep things going, going to college, changing from temporary to permanent work which I am sure her performance where she worked warranted going to permanent status. Obviously she is trying to raise her family right - example her son who touched the officer's heart by what he said to him in thanks for his help."

People in our city have heart, not all of them of course, but those who do make a huge difference on other people's lives in so many ways. I am thankful for those actions by Officer Streate.

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Yesterday we got a bit more information from our youngest son. In the lymph gland and lung the ailment has been classified as "Poorly Differentiated Carcinoma," it is not the same as he had in his larynx. So although he is ambulant he realizes that he is in a fight for life and seems to have his courage turned up to high. All prayers and good vibes in his direction are greatly appreciated.

Amongst police officers, many of them are Not Bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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