Like the gift of a dusting of snow right before Christmas, the story this week about a dachshund rescue wasn’t in competition with the presidential race, or the economy or the treason trial as top news story.
But the Associated Press report on the Kansas pooch who was flown home for Christmas was a welcome distraction.
“After getting lost in Florida, Addison the dachshund is back with her owner in Kansas in time for Christmas — and she arrived in style.
“The 7-year-old dachshund flew first class from Tampa, Fla., on Monday and was reunited with 14-year-old Abby Mason of Olathe, Kan., at the Kansas City International Airport.
“The lucky dog got the special treatment thanks to Crista Banks, a Florida dachshund owner and volunteer, who had seen emails from Abby about her missing dog and decided to help.
“Banks had some Delta frequent flyer miles going to waste, so she offered to use them to fly Addison to Kansas City.”
The story gets detailed, but suffice to say, some people went out of their way to make sure that someone they didn’t even know got a special surprise for Christmas, and that is a beautiful thing.
What a difference it would make if more of us took some time this time of year, and the rest as well, to go an extra step to help someone.
It might not fix things in Washington, D.C. It might not solve the Recession. It might not be any sort of a magic fix. But it would certainly be better than if we just continue to sit on our hands and gripe.
Worth a shot, isn’t it?
— Chuck Smith