Being late for certain events is unforgiveable.
But it is never, ever too late to say:
n Sorry.
n Thank you.
It was during the hectic month of December that a former Estherville resident contacted me via email seeking my assistance as a news reporter.
June Barlow Matthews, now of Perth, West Australia, must be an avid reader of the Estherville Daily News online.
Her sincere email was a fervent wish to find a certain gentleman and thank him for his random act of kindness ... shown to her about 60 years ago.
While Estherville has always been and continues to be a relatively "safe" place to live, city life can be frightening at times to any child, especially in the dark of night.
When June became separated from her brother that night, it's almost as if the night shadows grew in size and clouded her judgment, adding to the confusion to her whereabouts.
In one way or another, we all have been in June's shoes, where we were totally lost in unfamiliar surroundings.
It was her good fortune that she encountered this Good Samaritan of sorts.
Any of a random possibilities could have affected the outcome, but June was obviously in good hands that night. The kind soul took the time to usher her home.
There is no way of knowing exactly who the young man was, if he still lives here or if anyone else, by chance, knows of this incident.
But the act was commendable and the man deserve thanks even if it is posthumously.
What I also find fascinating is that June Barlow Matthews does not know me but felt confident enough to email me here at the Daily News in attempt to contact her knight in shining armour.
Barlow's email is today's letter to the editor.
Modern technology never ceases to amaze me. To think that at any given moment, anyone anywhere in the world can log on to our website is phenomenal.
While we aren't the New York Times or the LA Times, we are a newspaper that finds the pulse of the community and shares the beat with our readers. Thanks to the World Wide Web, our news circles the globe.
And so do our pictures. Yours too. Don't forget to check out photos at CU on our website. You also have the ability to post your own candid shots for the world to see!