Ripples of hope …..

In this day and time, it gets harder to think of anything that might put a positive spin on life in general.

What with the Middle East, Lewiston, Maine, and God knows what other headlines that beat us over the head on an almost daily basis, looking for (and finding) something even marginally uplifting is an exhausting undertaking.

But this week, I have to say, there have been some ripples of hope worth mentioning.

Oddly enough, for me it started on Halloween night.

I’d just about decided to turn the porch light off and skip handing out treats, then thought, what the heck, and bought a bag of candy at Harris Teeter.

Smart move, as it turns out.

I had the most kids ring my doorbell since before the pandemic.

Scores of youngsters, all clad in an often-hilarious variety of costumes, braved the early chill and threat of rain, mostly in groups escorted by smiling parents and all visibly excited for the occasion, even if it was on a Tuesday night.

But here’s the most important thing: every single one of them, ages ranging from toddler to about 10 or 11, were funny, cute, polite and courteous, often engaging in conversation as I dropped sweets into their bags or plastic pumpkins.

It made me, you know, feel good about the prospects of generations to come, and it was obvious – though they probably didn’t realize it at the time – that they were genuine, living and breathing ambassadors of hope for our future.

There wasn’t an ounce of distrust or hate or fear coming off a single one of them, which tells me that tomorrow is looking pretty good for America, no matter what the politicians or media types try to beat into us.

In all those little outstretched hands and smiling faces there was an aura of hope that so many of us had begun to believe was missing in this old world.

The next day, to keep this positive ball rolling, I received news of a couple of friends who’d been having health problems were actually doing better.

And then on Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers proved that persistence pays by winning their first-ever World Series title.

I’m not exactly a dyed-in-the-wool professional baseball fan, but I’d been halfway following the Rangers’ rise through the ranks, starting out as what everybody assumed would be a losing team to cap a so-so season with their 11th straight road playoff victory, toppling the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 to pick up the impressive Series trophy they’ll carry back to Dallas after more than half a century of trying.

Congratulations to them.

But more importantly, I want to thank those kids at my doorstep for helping me realize that our collective future’s not as bad as I feared it would be.

Tiny ripples of hope in a world awash with one tidal wave after another of all those bad things that seem like they’ll never go away.

Life’s going to get better, y’all.

Especially when those kids take over.

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