海角大神

Arnez Merriweather is the kind of neighbor you hope lives nearby.

When a fire started Monday in the St. Louis apartment building next door, Mr. Merriweather ran to help. A family was trapped on the second floor. He encouraged the mother to drop her 3-year-old out the window, and he caught the girl. Then, Mr. Merriweather and another neighbor caught the mom and grandmother before firefighters arrived. ,鈥� he told KTVI Fox 2.聽

How often do such brave and selfless acts occur? A quick internet search reveals two more recent examples of neighborly heroism.

In Waverly, Ohio, Matt Mitchell was driving home after work when a woman flagged him down. A house was on fire 鈥� a place where he鈥檇 seen children鈥檚 toys in the yard when he鈥檇 driven by. 鈥淚 immediately thought ... if my kids were in that house, ?鈥� Mr. Mitchell told the Chillicothe Gazette. 鈥淚nstincts took over and I just took off running inside the house.鈥� He rescued all three children and their mother.

On Chicago鈥檚 Southwest Side, Renaldo Vera was awakened by his dog barking early Monday. He rushed next door and pulled a 7-year-old boy and his mother from the burning building. 鈥�,鈥� Mr. Vera told the Chicago Sun-Times.

He鈥檚 probably being modest. Most of us would consider any of these remarkable acts a rarity in an era when a me-first ethos prevails. Or does it? What if Mr. Vera is right? Perhaps, empathy and courage in a crisis are the new neighborly norm.