finally understand the bumper sticker that says: Practice random acts of kindness.

While waiting to see my doctor for my annual physical last week, a man in his 70s weaved into the reception area and asked to see my doctor (one of three in a downtown HMO). The man was dizzy, he said, from medication the doctor had prescribed a day or so before.

But he didn?t have an appointment. (Uh-oh.)

While he teetered anxiously, a receptionist went in the back of the office, consulted the doctor, and came back to trumpet that this 70s or so man, who had been prescribed a drug that made him dizzy, would have to go to the emergency room located elsewhere in the building.

The emergency room.

The drug had been prescribed right there in that office.

As the overstated cliche says, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

It?s funny how time behaves when you?re struggling to figure out what your role is when we?ve been taught it?s none of our business ? it seemed like super slow motion. This 70s or so man ? obviously unhappy but a believer in authority ? slowly walked out of the office and headed for the elevator while I mentally chewed on things. Perhaps five minutes (who knows?) went by before I realized that I couldn?t let this fellow go to the emergency area.When I stood up to catch him, it was obvious that what was on my mind ? give up my appointment so he could get the medical attention he needed ? was on the minds of the dozen or so other patients? too. With a six-month old magazine still in my hand (Did you know Madonna is selling her house in L.A.?), I caught the fellow at the elevator and persuaded him to take my appointment. And when we went up to the desk to trade in my appointment for his, the other patients came close to cheering and the receptionist and nurses were genuinely thankful. Karma quarter earned, I made another appointment.

So, is this a rip at the HMO system or a self-congratulatory note?

Neither.

It?s about how in small ways, we can effect change by stepping out of our individual comfort zones to do something we know is right, not standing by waiting for others ?? or the agency ?? to do the right thing.

My favorite story along these lines comes from my brother-in-law who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Some years ago, a woman was standing on the railing of a bridge over the Susquehanna River, getting ready to jump.

People looking out their high-rise office buildings or driving by dialed the magic number ? 911 ?? for the police, the county, the emergency medical teams, all the public agencies paid to save her from suicide.

Just then a city bus driver, lumbering by on his regular bus route, stopped, reached out of his folding door and grabbed the woman’s coat, hauling her into the bus and safety.

While most of us would hail him as a hero, he wasn?t, really. He just did what the dozens of others who had driven by should have done.

You can, too.

Michael J. Fitzgerald is a professor of Journalism and a member of the CSUS Faculty Senate. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].