THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411130050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Country music legend Merle Haggard once wrote ``Miracles occur in the strangest of places.''
The same is true with kindness, which can bring a smile, bestow a grin or coax a chuckle in places where such manifestations of glee are as abundant as pictures of the First Lady inscribed ``All My Love, Hillary'' in Newt Gingrich's office.
But friends, I have found a hidden treasure trove of human goodness, right on Grenville Street in beautiful downtown Manteo. A word of caution: Buckle your seat belts.
The place? The local office of vehicle registration.
That's right, the home of long lines and short tempers became for one Monday morning a place of sugar and spice and all that's nice. The folks behind the counter smiled, and one of the clerks was nice enough to offer to help me install my new North Carolina plates.
But the true angel of mercy in this bastion of bureaucracy was a stocky man in a baseball cap.
When I found myself without a needed wrench, he abandoned his spot in the lengthening line, walked to his truck, brought the tool over and introduced himself as Minister Meekins.
``Ill put it on,'' he told the clerk.
She returned to her post, and he methodically went about the nuts and bolts of plate placement. Within minutes, my car was a legal vehicle in the eyes of the state of North Carolina.
``Thanks for doing this,'' I said. ``It's a big help.''
``It's what we're supposed to do,'' he said.
I asked Minister Meekins where he preached.
``Across the bridge in Currituck,'' he said, as he tightened the last bolt. We shook hands, and he went on his way.
I've been thinking a lot about Minister Meekins' six-word sermon on how humans ought to behave. Like you, I've spent the last six months watching politicians try to wrap themselves in the blanket of human goodness, all in the hope of winning votes.
In the news business, we see people every day who want their pictures in the paper for a ``little recognition'' for some act of kindness they've done.
But you don't often hear of registration clerks who turn mundane and often taxing experiences into a pleasure, nor do you see pictures of the Minister Meekinses of this world being recognized for helping those of us who are mechanically challenged put on their license plates.
But like Minister Meekins says, ``It's what we're supposed to do.''
Maybe it's not a big deal, but it is one of things that makes a day a little better.
For the first time in my driving life, I left a vehicle registration office with a smile on my face, thinking that one Sunday, I might want to drive up to Minister Meekins' church and hear him preach.
But on second thought, I don't need to hear him talk the talk.
I've seen him walk the walk. by CNB