Dawn was a thin, brittle crust on the edge of a recent morning and the thermometer read a stingy 20 degrees when a friend of mine donned a red apron and began ringing a handbell next to a Salvation Army kettle. Millions do this every year, and like most of them, my friend is not a member of the Army, nor does he require any of the services the venerable charity provides to people around the world. It was a chance to be of service, and he seized it.
Ho hum, you might say. And that's precisely the point.