Bob CollinsToday’s must read is the Star Tribune’s almost unbelievable profile of Justin Lang, the Robbinsdale 30-year-old man who went house to house in North Minneapolis yesterday shoveling people out.
He’s described as the person who buys bottled water on hot summer days for homeless people, or hands some of the clothes he’s wearing to people who are cold.
He says it’s no big deal; he hopes people would do the same for him.
How do we get more people like him? Maybe the answer lies in the middle of the story.
Sure, Lang was a Boy Scout growing up. But he attributes his altruism to the “two very, very good people” who raised him.
“One of first things my dad preached to us was, do right by your fellow man. Be honest. Be loyal. Be trustworthy,” he said. “If you say you’re going to do something, follow through with it. Just do the same thing you would want somebody to do for you.”
His mother taught him compassion.
“I just want people to be nice to one another,” he said.
His parents make us want to be better at it, too.
Related shoveling: Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt medallion found at Bald Eagle Lake (Pioneer Press)
