Neosho fire Chief Greg Hickman just happened “to be in the right place at the right time” to save the life of a 10-year-old boy trapped in a car that had landed upside down in four feet of water.
With assistance from Sgt. Stephen Douglas of the Neosho Police Department, Hickman managed to cut the youngster out of his seat belt and get him to shore. The boy wasn’t breathing and Hickman administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. An ambulance arrived. The boy was flown to Freeman Hospital, where he was treated and released.
That Hickman heard the police radio report, that he was close enough to quickly respond, that he had a knife in his possession when only that particular instrument might extricate the lad from his perilous situation ... all of that provides a sense of more than just being “in the right place at the right time.” Providential would seem a good fit.
We salute Chief Hickman and Sgt. Douglas. Their quick work saved a life. That Hickman did what he was trained as a fireman to do in dealing with a life-threatening situation doesn’t diminish the fact that a 10-year-old is alive today.
But beyond that Monday night crisis, shouldn’t we consider all the other times that firemen, police officers and paramedics cheat the touch of death with their quick-thinking, alertness, knowledge and experience. Although their efforts often go unreported and thus unnoticed, they, too, merit a “thank you” and salute from those they serve.
Our definition of heroism is someone who goes beyond what is expected of them. Might not being “in the right place at the right time” make an appropriate appurtenance?
Opinion
In our view: Saving lives
- Opinion
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Our View: Great divide
In 1975, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United States began meeting on an annual basis to coordinate economic policies.
Canada and Russia later joined this forum. Today and Saturday the G-8 summit will be held at Camp David, Md. -
Our View: Fiscal cliff
In August 2011, Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to tax increases and spending cuts to automatically take place in January of 2013.
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Our View: Ditto that
Lots of angry words are being tossed around about a secretive ceremony held Monday in our state Capitol to honor Rush Limbaugh’s induction as a member of the Hall of Famous Missourians. Let us add our “ditto” to that criticism.
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Our View: Linked for success
Dr. Richard Reed, a Joplin dentist, lost his office and equipment in the May 22 tornado.
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Your View: An alternative candidate
The bane of Duane Graham’s existence apparently is GOP politicians, other than those who provide him with derogatory commentary about the only competition his personal choice for president has (Globe, May 6).
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Other Views: War on terror isn't over
Weary of a war on terror that has gone on for years, we would like to declare victory and return to normalcy.
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Phill Brooks, columnist: Stumbling blocks hinder Legislature
House Speaker Steve Tilley may have coined the best word for the 2012 legislative session. “Incremental” was how he described what the Legislature had accomplished on education.
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Other Views: When is a right a right?
The framers of the U.S. Constitution were admirably clear, or so they and we thought, when they wrote in the Fifth Amendment that no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
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Your View: Disregard for humans
Let’s talk about disregard for human life.
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Your View: Thumbs up, thumbs down
“Thumbs up” on the Globe’s front-page article (May 3) on racism and the elderly black gentleman. At age 93, I have lived through the Ku Klux Klan epidemic, and I remember it well.
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