Pessimists would ask, "What is our world coming to?" We find hope -- indeed, find joy -- in knowing that there are many really good people in our world. We reflect on a few we've crossed paths with recently.

There is a little pink cottage on a bay near the Texas Gulf Coast. It is pink, as are all of the 36 cottages in that little community, painted to echo the color in the sky. By some solar phenomenon, as sunrises and sunsets lie upon the bay’s horizon there, they turn the atmosphere into a sweetheart-rose pink. Some friends who have visited us there call it the “Precious little pink palace by the bay.”

In the 25 years I have owned the cottage, I have found that the pink color is not the most remarkable thing about that community. It is the community itself. The people who live there are really good people. They reach out, bidden or unbidden, to be neighborly to one another. Some take morning walks together. Others are on call as volunteer firemen or sponsor money-raising events to benefit the fire department. Several of the residents volunteer at the local thrift store that benefits local churches and city needs. Neighbors are good neighbors.

This community was the “bull’s eye” when Hurricane Harvey attacked the Gulf Coast in August 2017. The debris was gradually picked up and buildings were restored. Most of it. The metal hurricane shutters protected my cottage like they were supposed to. But in the fast flung foray of tree limbs, one of the shutter slats was badly damaged. Somehow, I just never got around to fixing it.

One day, several months ago, I noticed that the shutter slat had been repaired and repainted. No one I know did it. If they did, they wouldn’t own up to it. They are really good people.

These are the good people who offer to help unload my groceries into my trunk and then return the cart to the store. You probably know people like that. Even among all of the din and darkness of the world, there are some really good people. Not necessarily heroes. Even among the unkind avarice there is unselfish altruism. Not necessarily angels. Just really good people. Let it begin with me.

I was in the audience at Trinity University last week when acclaimed poet, Naomi Shihab Nye, sat down for a conversation with her friend, Cary Clack. The occasion was the publication of Clack’s new book: More Finish Lines to Cross: Notes on Race, Redemption and Hope.

At one point, Nye told Clack she thought of him as a “merchant of hope.” Although Clack appeared uncomfortable with that title, hope became a recurring theme of the conversation. Clack said that his primary aim as a writer is to help people believe that “there is a better way.”

As a Black opinion columnist for our local newspaper, a columnist who frequently writes about race, Clack – sadly, but not surprisingly – gets his share of hate mail. He brought with him a postcard he received last year with a particularly chilling message – and then made a joke about it.

Nye admiringly commented, “You can joke about the hate mail!” and later returned to the question, “What gives you hope?” Clack paused, gestured toward the audience, and said, “Events like this.” He went on to speak about the importance of community: “It is hard for hope to flourish when you’re alone. Where we always have to turn to is to each other.”

Clack also cautioned young writers – or anyone else – against setting out with grand ideas to “change the world.” That, he said, is a recipe for disappointment. But each of us, he said, can impact “the parcel of earth we inhabit.” Each of us, encouraged by others, can use our voices – “our unique voices” – to make a difference.

I left that evening encouraged. I left that evening feeling that I had been in the presence of two people, two good people, who both use their voices to make a difference. May we all do the same.

(You can listen to the full conversation between Clack and Nye here.)

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