American President Abraham Lincoln once spoke of the “better angels of our nature.”
He would be shocked and appalled by the modern world the way it exists today. In this, the era of Donald Trump, politeness and decency seem to have been replaced by aggressive and abusive behaviour.
So, it came as a breath of fresh air in recent days when St. Albert and surrounding Alberta communities rallied around Caleb Cenek, a 12-year-old boy with autism whose specially designed trike was stolen while parked right in front of his Lacombe Park home on July 10.
Caleb, as his mother Andrea Palmer-Cenek told the Gazette’s Scott Hayes, was devastated. Who steals a child’s wheels? Kids, bikes, the summer – it’s a way of life for so many youngsters.
Equally disturbed by the incident was K97 radio host Terry Evans, who launched a mini campaign to raise funds to buy a new trike for Caleb. The call went out and spread like wildfire. The community responded overwhelmingly; support came in from as far away as Medicine Hat. It was a giant, generous act of decency.
But was it unexpected, especially in these parts? Certainly not. The people of St. Albert and Alberta are well-known for responding quickly when people are in need of assistance; their generosity is unparalleled – it’s in their DNA.
Look at the response of the local population – and the entire country, for that matter – during the Humboldt Broncos’ bus tragedy earlier this year. It was immediate and massive; a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign raised more than $15 million.
As we all know four sons of St. Albert – Logan Hunter, Jaxon Joseph, Stephen Wack and Conner Lukan – were lost during that devastating April 6 bus crash that claimed 16 lives. But the communities of Canada embraced their families and friends. It was a heartwarming moment that reminded us that we, as St. Albertans and as Canadians, are a caring people.
No matter what the scale, we respond quickly and with generosity.
And as far as Caleb is concerned, things could not have turned out better for the young man. As reported in the Gazette last week, Caleb’s three-wheeler was returned to his home a week after it was nabbed.
Something magical happened that day. The mysterious person who returned the trike rang the doorbell and dashed off into the dark before any member of the Cenek family could see who it was. Was it a change of heart? Was the conscience of the thief affected by the campaign to raise funds for Caleb’s trike?
We will never really know what actually happened. But something good did take place, something worked out quite well. Added to Caleb’s good fortunes is the fact that Evans’ campaign raised enough money to purchase an adult trike for Caleb.
Caleb’s mother Andrea reports that everything is back to normal in the Cenek household. So Caleb rides again, thanks to a few angels in the neighbourhood.
Thankfully, this is one community where common decency and kindness still reside.
