I just got back in from a day spent with my mother. She is 89 years old and still able to get around with the use of a walker, but her balance is not good. I had taken her to a restaurant she likes in a local mall, and we were ready to head back home after the meal. My daughter was with her while I went to get the car and bring it right up in front of her at the curb. She took the small step down and somehow just kept going. I got out of the car right away and went to her, so there we were, the three of us down on the sidewalk, my mother, my daughter and I. We ascertained quickly that she was not seriously hurt and then began encouraging her to move to all fours and lean on us to begin rising to a standing position again.
   During the time that she was down on the ground, four different men walked past us, and the emphasis is on "past". Not one of them was too old or frail themselves to have offered help, but not one of them did. Not one asked if we were OK, or if there was something they could do. Although none of them had anything to say, each one of them stared at us.
   Would it be wrong of me to hope that some day each one of them finds themselves in a similar situation, and experiences the same count of people passing by, gawking, but offering no help at all?