It’s amazing how selfish, self-centered and just plain rude we’ve become as a society.
In this day and age of instant gratification at every level, it’s surprising when you run into someone or something that reminds you that polite society did — believe it or not — once exist.
That’s why I’m thankful for kids (yes, I’m much older than them, so I can call them kids) like Dory Hines, Blake Herring, Dorian Edwards, Joshua Lovick and Quinton Coples.
I had the honor of covering all four of them when they played sports in high school, even coaching three of them (Blake, Dorian and Joshua) at the Fairfield Recreation Center. And no, I’m not taking an iota of credit for the great young men they’ve become.
Instead, I think attention needs to be focused on the great jobs their parents did in raising them and teaching them respect for their elders, great work ethic and a true view of community.
Jon Dawson and I had Dory as a guest on our Free Press Radio Show this week — and it was refreshing to hear a young man talk about helping others instead of pumping himself up. His goal is to become a teacher and basketball coach — and he’s going to excel at both.
Dorian, Joshua and Blake are three community-minded kids who are also great college students (or post-graduate students, in Dorian’s case) with amazing futures stretched out in front of them. They volunteer in our neighborhoods and are tangibly improving Kinston in many ways.
And I don’t even have to tell you about the great job Quinton is doing this weekend during his community weekend here in Kinston. He’s meeting real needs of folks right here in town. Most importantly, he’s showing kids and young people that hard work can make your dreams come true.
While it’s easy for me to sometimes be disconcerted with the negative direction society seems to be heading, all I have to do is talk to some of our young people and see that, indeed, all hope is not yet lost.
Bryan C. Hanks is the editor of The Free Press; his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCHanks.