Today is Thanksgiving
It happened in a blur. One moment I was approaching the traffic lights at the corner of Golden Grove Road and the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. The next, after a bang and rattle, I was being helped out of the over-turned vehicle, coaxed by the reassuring, solicitous voices of a cadre of concerned Trinis.
The roadway was busy last Saturday evening around 8 pm and I was fortunate. A few minutes earlier or later, the fast-moving, converging traffic would have made life much more unpleasant than dented ego and bruised knee.
Thanks to those caring, helpful hands who remained around to ensure that I was okay before almost apologetically taking their leave. This was another instance of good news, confirming that circumstances in Trinidad and Tobago are not always as bad as made out. We save our best for when fellow citizens are in jeopardy.
A word of thanks too to the crew of the ambulance unit of Global Medical Response of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (GMRTT) which was on the scene within minutes of the accident. Their words of advice and caution, together with the on-site checks, provided comfort.
Key learnings from the experience include the never-too-frequently-provided warning about the need for complete vigilance on the roads. Secondly, the responsiveness and attentiveness of GMRTT prove that there are organisations in the country that operate efficiently. But above all, we need to more widely acclaim and diligently explore for the national good, the spirit of compassion and decency residing in us all, which seem to find scarce opportunity for expression these days.
Winston R. Rudder,
Petit Valley