Letters: A ‘good news’ day

Re “Rare type o guy,” Dec. 24

I know that tragic or otherwise negative events tend to make the news more than uplifting stories. As a result, we faithful readers get a relentless reporting of stories that are sad, scary or downright depressing.

This article, however, about math teacher Jim O’Connor — who spends so much time giving at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles — is a welcome change. Here is someone who makes a difference in the lives of others without any expectation of notoriety.

The piece brought tears to my eyes.

It would be great if we could more frequently read of people who, in small, quiet ways, make the world a little better. Those stories are all around us.

Marilyn Robertson

Mt. Washington

Whether by design or coincidence, the two stories featured on The Times’ Dec. 24 front page gave a terrific opportunity to teach us all something.

The story about O’Connor showed that beyond the gruff exterior the high school teacher puts on for his students, compassion and caring through years of selfless blood donations have been his true guide.

In the story just beneath it, we learned that Jim Goodroe, a South Carolina pastor, cares more about inclusiveness and common sense than the typical rhetoric surrounding the fractured immigration debate.

These two men exemplify the opportunity that this holiday season really gives us: the chance to seek out the good.

Phillip Hain

Glendale

Amid the senseless acts of violence occurring throughout the Southland, The Times published a story on its front page that is both joyful and uplifting.

The photos of O’Connor holding a baby and giving blood and platelets at Children’s Hospital are truly inspiring.

His extreme generosity and selfless acts of kindness should be a model for all of us hoping to make this city a better place to live in and to raise children.

Vern Hallgren

Los Angeles

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