GENEROUS KINDNESS: A local resident shared an uplifting story with the newsroom that occurred recently, during the busy holiday season.

She wrote, “I’m an 89-year-old woman sitting in my car in the Walmart pick up lot at 7:30 Saturday morning. My car hood was up because Walmart had tried to help me but didn’t have jumper cables and I didn’t know what to do when a lovely mother with a baby in the back seat of her car asked about my problem.

She had jumper cables and offered to help as soon as her groceries were loaded. She had to move her car to get in position to jump mine and when she started to connect, she got sparks and that wasn’t good.

“Two other ladies had arrived later and were watching. They understood the process and with their consultation, I was started on my way. For me this was like a gift from heaven and I wanted to thank all three of these ladies for sharing their time and talents in this rushing Christmas season when everyone is worried and working around virus issues. These ladies were angels in disguise.”

Remember that a moment of your time can be priceless to a stranger in need.

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FOREST PROVISIONS: It’s a good time of year to be thankful for forests, especially all the things they provide us.

One way to consider the many amenities and things we value about forests is to remember the simple acronym WWWWW, or “the five W’s of forests.” That’s one W for each finger on your hand. They each represent a separate word, packed with lots of meaning and examples: Wood, Water, Wildlife, “W-ecreation,” and Wonder.

If you take a moment to think about these five words, it will begin to dawn on you. It’s easy to think of examples. Here are a few for each forest W that you might be familiar with.

— Wood: furniture, paper, and guitars

— Wildlife: deer, owls, and fish

— Water: streams, waterfalls, and springs

— “W-ecreation”: camping, hiking, and birding

— Wonder: colored leaves, scenic views, and places to relax.