Welcome to “Dear Daybreak”, a weekly Daybreak column. It features short vignettes about life in the Upper Valley: an encounter, some wry exchange with a stranger or acquaintance… Anything that happened in this region or relates to it and strikes a contributor as interesting or funny or poignant—or that makes us appreciate living here.

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Dear Daybreak:

On a recent mid-March Sunday morning when the temperature struggled to get above 30 degrees, I pulled into one of my favorite grocery stores. I noted, with concern, that a familiar couple were out in the cold.

They are senior citizens, and by their clothing, look to be of humble origins. As far as I can tell, they live in the area. He is in a wheelchair, in which she propels him. They are often set up by one of the three entrances to the parking lot. She frequently sits in his lap, and also holds a sign indicating that any donation will help them.

As I left the store with my yogurt, I noticed the young man who had parked beside my car. He was returning to his vehicle after having given the couple a donation. I was touched by his action, and also pleased that he, based on a bumper sticker attached to his car, might be a student at Dartmouth.

As someone who grew up in an evangelical Christian household in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had an unbidden question run through my mind: “What would Jesus do?” As I handed the woman a donation, I said, “Since I’m not in church today, here’s my tithe.”

I was delighted that she understood the reference, and even more surprised when a beautiful belly laugh emanated from her. She responded with a cheery, “Thank you!”

Since that unexpected experience, I continue to reflect on it. I think there are many lessons we all can learn from her.

— Lori Harriman, Wilder

Dear Daybreak:

Forecast

All night it’s been a day of rain And daylight now it just won’t stop The river best stands most to gain And fills itself up to the top

The south bound flood is full engorged Runs smoother than a sliding snake From clouds in which the rain is forged Comes water with no thirst to slake

The rain falls just to please itself It really has no other cause It won’t go back up on the shelf It just pours down without a pause

The sky the river and the wood Are grey and grey and grey and grey All elements now think it good So now the rain is here to stay

They do not care that all might dry The elements have no concern They are not worried that the sky Might not have new rain to learn

Each root and bud and waking seed All know the waters will return They all get just what they need Sometime they drown sometime they burn

— Peter Webster, Lyme