People Behind the News

Diva wrote a piece about a news story involving someone she knew, which reminded me of a something that happened to a resident of my neighbourhood. A few years ago, a kid called Joe ran his car off the road in a remote area, and spent 8 days trapped in the wreckage before he was rescued. He made the local papers when he failed to arrive at his destination, and I really felt for his parents - hoping that I will never have to wait as they did, day after day, wondering if my child is still alive. Then he was found, miraculously alive after 8 days without food or water, seriously injured, trapped in the wreckage of his car. It was a pretty amazing story.

And every time I go grocery shopping, there he is. He's the guy who bags my groceries, and rounds up the carts in the parking lot. A nice guy, he always has a cheery smile for the kids. And I wonder, whenever I see him, what it must have been like. And I know I'll never ask him, although I'm sure lots of others have.

And I wonder about all the other people who make the news - what must it be like, to have so many people know so much about a very small piece of your life. And I hope I never find out. Because people rarely make the front page for happy reasons.