THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210018
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
On a recent morning I was waiting in a fast-food restaurant on Chesapeake Boulevard while my car was being repaired across the street. A group of teenage males sat at a table near me. They were dressed in an assortment of baggy pants, ball caps on backward and crooked, athletic shoes and oversized T-shirts, this year's uniform of the nonconformist.
It was pouring rain when a young woman came in with a small child. She seated the child at a table and pointed to a pay telephone outside, telling him she was going there and to remain seated until she returned. At that, one of the youths volunteered to ``keep an eye'' on the child. While the mother made a call, the teens chatted in big-brother fashion with the little boy.
When the mother returned, she confided that her car had stopped running in the drive-through lane of the restaurant and asked if anyone would help her push it on through. Immediately, two of the youths jumped up, announced that they were already wet anyway, trooped outside in the downpour and pushed the disabled vehicle into the parking lot.
With so much said and written about all that is wrong with the young people of today, I had to take the time to publicly acknowledge the selfless actions of this group of young men. I am grateful to them for making my day and for renewing my faith in a generation that will inherit our world.
SUSAN DOYLE
Norfolk, Sept. 8, 1995 by CNB