Opposite Reactions

     A helicopter flew overhead while I strolled through a park. I assumed an emergency had happened. Lights flashed on official vehicles parked nearby. The aircraft, which descended behind a building, was probably a med flight.
     A pair of teenage boys jogged by. They were high school athletes on a practice.
     “What’s up with the helicopter?” I said.
     “A motorcyclist crashed,” said one of the boys. “Splattered himself all over Forest Street.”
     The word splattered was spoken with emphasis and jocularity. This boy, I sensed, cared not a whit for the cyclist.
     My reaction to the news was different. Even though the motorcyclist was unknown, I felt a felt a twinge of concern for him.
     I didn’t fault the athlete for being callous. I might have reacted the same way when I was his age. Boys and young men often lack sensitivity. Indifference to strangers is burnished in their hard wiring. When that boy grows into middle age, compassion might bubble to his surface.
     Compassion reveals maturity.