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Sawyer Scaramastro

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Our Opinion: Hats off to hard workers, including doctor duo who aim to perk up Scranton

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; There are those familiar comic book heroes &#8212; Batman and his Batmobile, Superman and his cape, Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth.</p><p>And then there is Jim Kelly and his truck.</p><p>Kelly is not a comic book character &#8212; he&#8217;s a real human being and a real hero.</p><p>A man in a wheelchair was trying to cross Northampton Street in Edwardsville on Wednesday. Traffic, as always around 5 p.m. was heavy. Too many vehicles zipping by to chance crossing in a motorized wheelchair.</p><p>And nobody was slowing down. Nobody was noticing. Nobody seemed to care.</p><p>And then along comes Jim Kelly in his blue 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck from his business &#8212; Transmission &amp; Auto Repair by Kelly.</p><p>Kelly, seeing the plight of the man in the wheelchair, did what he had to do. He pulled his truck across Northampton Street, blocking traffic. All vehicles had to stop.</p><p>Drivers, still oblivious to the man in the wheelchair and his need to cross the street, got upset. Too bad.</p><p><strong>Held his ground</strong></p><p>Kelly held his ground. The man crossed the street. The two waved in appreciation.</p><p>Kelly backed up his truck and went on his way.</p><p>And everybody learned a lesson in humanity and true heroism.</p><p>Diane Brewster of Edwardsville saw this scene unfold. She was one of the vehicles stopped by Kelly&#8217;s heroics.</p><p>She said she didn&#8217;t realize what was going on until she saw the man in the wheelchair crossing the street. Brewster said the man, who was unknown to her, was in his 30s with dark hair. His wheelchair was red.</p><p>Brewster said Kelly&#8217;s action moved her to the point that she had to follow him to thank him.</p><p>&#8220;I felt he (Kelly) needed to know that was a great thing he did,&#8221; Brewster told me. &#8220;He brushed it off as no big deal, which people like him don&#8217;t normally think it&#8217;s anything major. More people should do what he did.&#8221;</p><p>I sat with Kelly at his transmission shop. A crew was there paving the lot. They had no clue they were working for a hero.</p><p>Kelly, 57, of Suscon, laughed at the suggestion.</p><p>&#8220;I did what anybody else would do,&#8221; Kelly said. &#8220;Some people were getting excited. They didn&#8217;t realize what was happening, I guess. I didn&#8217;t think it was a big deal.&#8221;</p><p>Kelly said it was hot, near 100 degrees under the unrelentless sun. He said the man looked tired. He looked like he just wanted to cross the street and head down the sidewalk, probably to do some shopping at the nearby Narrows or Gateway Shopping Centers.</p><p>Getting across the street was a very big deal to the man in the wheelchair.</p><p><strong>Stranger to Kelly</strong></p><p>Kelly said he never saw the man before and hasn&#8217;t seen him since. He doesn&#8217;t know the man&#8217;s name or where he lives.</p><p>Kelly never even told his wife and two kids about what happened until I called him and asked if I could come over and talk. He called his wife to tell her about my call and she agreed that he did a nice thing.</p><p>Kelly said he didn&#8217;t have to get out of his truck. &#8220;That was my next move,&#8221; he said. Traffic did stop, finally.</p><p>&#8220;I think the valley is full of nice people who would have done the same thing I did,&#8221; Kelly said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just my nature to help people. It&#8217;s the way I was brought up.&#8221;</p><p>Brewster posted what she saw on Facebook. Several people commented about it, including Linda Zinga who works at Wyoming Valley Montessori School located next to Kelly&#8217;s business on West Market Street in Kingston.</p><p>&#8220;I know Mr. Kelly and this doesn&#8217;t surprise me,&#8221; Zinga said. &#8220;He&#8217;s that kind of a guy. He&#8217;s very kind and considerate.&#8221;</p><p>Brewster felt Kelly needed to be recognized. She said people are always in too much of a hurry and ignore the needs of others.</p><p>&#8220;If people would stop thinking about themselves and act as Mr. Kelly did, the world can be a better place,&#8221; Brewster said. &#8220;In reality, most should be like Mr Kelly &#8212; compassionate and caring for another human being. Bravo to him.&#8221;</p><p>I want to believe Kelly when he says anybody else would have done what he did, but I&#8217;m not so sure. I mean, why did it take Kelly to use his truck to block traffic for people to notice that a man in a wheelchair needed a helping hand?</p><p><strong>Lending a hand</strong></p><p>When I was a kid, my mom and dad would take me places. I would see the stares from people who noticed my mother&#8217;s brace or my dad&#8217;s wooden prosthesis. Often times, people would offer to help if they saw us struggling with anything, which, by the way, wasn&#8217;t often. My parents were very able people.</p><p>But on Wednesday, vehicles just kept whizzing by, never giving a second thought to helping the unknown man in the red motorized wheelchair. And that is a sad commentary on today&#8217;s society.</p><p>Diane Brewster is right. Jim Kelly should be recognized for his actions.</p><p>But people in wheelchairs, people with disabilities, people who need help should also be recognized. And those who can, should never hesitate to help.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL090615JimKelly.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kingston businessman Jim Kelly recently helped a man in a wheelchair cross a busy street in Edwardsville by pulling the truck he was driving across the road to give the man a chance to cross safely. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL090615JimKelly.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kingston businessman Jim Kelly recently helped a man in a wheelchair cross a busy street in Edwardsville by pulling the truck he was driving across the road to give the man a chance to cross safely. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Columnshot-1-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Columnshot-1-5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

In Focus: Kingston businessman proves heroes don’t always wear capes