"A teenager's simple act elevates all"

I think I'm going to start a collection of good-news stories about teenagers. Next time I hear an adult whine that teens are such horrible creatures, or that my job must be absolutely impossible because what teen would ever listen, I'm going to hand them the stack of good-news stories. And they aren't even a few isolated cases of goodness. There are wonderful teens with inspiring stories everywhere. We simply have to listen.

So, this good-news story comes from Boston. The Boston Globe article, "A teenager's simple act elevates all" relays the self-gift of Rudy Favard, a high school senior and co-captain of the football team. You have to read the whole story, but it starts like this:

"Everybody was waiting for Rudy.

On Tuesday night, Patty and Rick Parker were in their cramped kitchen with their 8-year-old son Ben. Dinner was over. Bedtime was near.

Ben’s twin brother, Sammy, lay on a cot in the narrow hallway just outside the kitchen. Unable to see or speak or control his limbs, he coughed or let out a little moan every now and then. Rick and Patty took turns feeding Sammy, who has cerebral palsy, through a stomach tube. He cooed when they kissed his face or stroked his cheek, and when they cooed back, he opened his mouth into a wide, joyful O.

A few feet away was the narrow, winding stairway that is the family’s biggest burden lately.

Which is where 17-year-old Rudy’s simple, life-changing act of kindness comes in."

So what does Rudy do? Continue the story here.