The Pollyanna Reports, XV

America has a good and generous heart.

He was a 90-year-old veteran of the United States Air Force who had to push grocery carts at a Winn Dixie in New Orleans in 95-degree heat with a heat index reaching 103 and a level of humidity unique to the Big Easy. He said he had to do it "to eat."

I saw that story and was immediately struck by the many commonalities this gentleman and I share. He lives in the city of my birth, served his country in the Air Force as did I, and is 90 years old — a milestone that, if the Good Lord wills it, I will reach in three months. Additionally, I am painfully aware of the heat index in New Orleans as many of our cases were filed in the Federal Court there and there may be places as hot in the month of August in America- Miami comes to mind - but none hotter or more humid. I am immensely blessed in that I do not have to work at this age to eat — there but for the grace of God go I.

What happened when a customer saw this scene unfold was enough to give one real hope for the goodness and generosity at the heart of America. This USA Today article is a welcome reminder that this goodness is there, we only need to look for it.

This gentleman was Dillon McCormick. The customer was Karen Swensen who talked with Mr. McCormick on Memorial Day about why he was toiling in the heat and not enjoying a comfortable retirement. His response was poignant and tragic:

"I saw this elderly man pushing carts and from my perspective, it appeared that he was always pushing uphill even though we don’t have any hills,” she told USA TODAY on Thursday.

Swensen initially left the store that day, this past Memorial Day on May 27. But something pulled her back to Winn-Dixie and that man, working so hard in the heat.

When she returned later in the day, she met him and found out that his name is Dillon McCormick, he's a 90-year-old Air Force veteran and that he has worked at the Winn-Dixie in Metairie in metro New Orleans for 23 years. When Swensen asked McCormick why he was working out in the heat, he had a simple answer that pulled at her heartstrings:

“To eat,” he said.

Ms Swensen immediately started a GoFundMe campaign, explaining that he needs about $2,500.00 to pay his bills and put food on the table but he only gets $1,100.00 from Social Security.

"Mr. McCormick is working to EAT, he said," she posted. "So he must push carts in triple digit heat to make ends meet. He had the kindest smile and greatest attitude. He is grateful for his job and his work ethic speaks for itself."

Overnight, the fund had raised $170,000.00, although her initial goal had been $30,000, enough for McCormick to retire for one year. In a short period of time donations coming in from as far away as Taiwan and Europe brought the total up to $244,000.00 at which time Swensen stopped taking donations. An article about this initiative, 'We can do better' Donations roll in for the 90-year-old veteran working in sweltering heat, suggested that those who wished to contribute can reach out to organizations that serve veterans or those suffering from homelessness.

When Swensen informed him of what the fund had raised his response was, "I think it's great... At my age, it's probably a miracle."

To keep this post as fair and balanced as possible, I should acknowledge some negative comments in the articles on this wonderful story such as the one from American Thinker by Olivia Murray which contained these well-founded observations:

Where’s his “free” luxury apartment, like the kind the California Democrats are handing to the bums of Skid Row? Well, nowhere, because that deal only applies to the non-producers.

Why doesn’t he get a pre-loaded debit card, with thousands of dollars in spending money, like the New York City Democrats gave to third-world migrants who’ve never given a dollar or a drop of blood for this nation? Well, because he’s an American.

Does Mr. McCormick get a pass from paying off other people’s student loans? No, he’s taxed to his breaking point, just like the rest of us.

Is his work somehow immune to the rapid devaluation of the dollar with which he’s paid? Of course not.

While I agree with every word Murray wrote in that post, I would prefer to focus on the "feel good" quality of this great story and hope and pray that our National nightmare, a/k/a the Biden "administration", will come to an end starting in November.

I feel it is only fitting to leave the last words to Mr. McCormick himself who had this to say about what Ms. Swensen did for him and how she changed his life:

“There’s very few people like her left in this crazy world of ours,” McCormick said. “But as long as she’s alive, people are in good shape.”

God Bless America!