Where are the heroes? Where are those wonderful people in the world? And on a more petty note, where is my individual hero, the fellah who will rescue me from myself, carry me off, love me? But I digress…

Apparently there are quite a few heroes in Boston. I saw the videos. 1. Explosion and screaming 2. Immediate images of people running towards the explosion to help. TOWARDS the explosion. Amazing. Heartening.

Especially in a week when we’ve heard so much about rape and bullying and terrorizing and ridiculous political leaders waffling all over the place and general despair here and nastiness worldwide.

It’s all pretty discouraging. It’s especially discouraging on Facebook, where people of small minds use every tiny comment to throw abuse at someone, particularly a certain president, or some hapless high school,student, while offering nothing but bleats of sheep rather than ideas for alternatives.

I met another hero this week, in a small way. He rear-ended my car. And instead of shouting or being rude or whatever, he reacted like a human being. He was pleasant, even though his car was crumpled.

I’ve got nothing to offer about the world situation, except maybe some profound wishes and prayers that it resolve. And hope that people stop killing each other, whether by gun or bomb or starvation. And my VOTE, of course.

But I can’t help but think the go-to response of the Boston rescuers, the ability of my crash partner to see past himself and be kind and polite, the little niceties of life – well, that sort of thing seems like a good way to face the world. It might even spread and make the whole world better.

Positive, cheerful, kind. Now I find that combo “dangerously irresistible”.

If an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, then maybe a smile for a smile would make the whole world kind. Yah, it’s Pollyanna-ish, but I’m clinging to straws here. How about you?

C’mon! Show me that dangerously irresistible smile.