DEAR ABBY: My 22-year-old daughter was driving on a busy street when she noticed an older gentleman in running shorts lying on the median. She stopped, turned on her hazard lights and went to help. He was unresponsive, but breathing.
When she called 911, she was told that more than 100 motorists had reported a "dead man" on the street, but no one had stopped to check on him. Police, an ambulance and a fire truck arrived shortly after her call.
Abby, at what point do we become invisible? When do we cease to be important? Would it have been different if that person had been a child or someone in his 30s? Have we lost our humanity? -- DISAPPOINTED IN TAMPA
DEAR DISAPPOINTED: I doubt whether the situation would have been different if the man had been in his 30s rather than a senior. If a child had been lying there ... maybe.
The passing motorists may have thought they had "done their duty" by calling 911 and were afraid to do more because they didn't know what else to do. Have we lost our humanity? Some people may have, but your daughter isn't one of them. Orchids to her, and to you, for having raised such a caring -- and proactive -- individual.