A snapshot by Jennifer Foster, showing New York City police officer Larry DePrimo giving new boots to a barefoot homeless man in Times Square one night, has created an online sensation. Officer Larry DePrimo gave the man a pair of all-weather boots and thermal socks on the frigid night.
Dear Paul B Readers,
I just read (and verified) a wonderful holiday story, which warmed my heart so that I had to share it with you. I sincerely hope that we can all be enlightened by this random act of kindness (RAK). A New York City policeman — a three year newbie on the force — Larry DePrimo, while walking his beat and came upon a homeless man on the sidewalk. It was November 14th, 2012, and quite a chilly night, so much so, that Officer DePrimo was wearing two pairs of wool winter socks and his warmest pair of combat boots. The homeless man was wearing no shoes at all! The policeman asked the man to wait there, and wait he did. Officer DePrimo walked into a Skechers store and purchased a pair of $75 insulated winter boots and a pair of thermal socks for this poor man. He said “I thought nothing of it,” and returned to help the vagrant put on the socks and shoes. The officer also asked if he could buy this man a cup of coffee, but he declined and walked off into the night.
Officer DePrimo was surprised to learn that a picture taken by some Arizona tourists had gone viral via Facebook. How truly remarkable and inspiring is this holiday season story, when we could all use a “jolt” of joy. I take away many positive feelings from this story about giving, but none more significant than the idea that this policeman thought “nothing of it,” because it was the RIGHT THING TO DO! I know that policemen aren’t among the top wage earners in our 325 million plus population, so I question why we don’t see a Wall Street millionaire pictured with similar Good Samaritan efforts. I hope “THEY” will read this column, and everyone else for that matter!
Paul B
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