Moving can bring out the best and the worst in people, I'm finding. And I've discovered where a very generous spirit lives: Defiance, Ohio. After suffering through many months of unemployment, my wife and I had to move this week from Colorado to Ohio, where she would work as a sales assistant. Not knowing a person there, we were pretty concerned about all the work, including how we'd get all the things unloaded without killing ourselves. We decided to pay a couple of college students to help with all the heavy lifting once we got there. But one neighbor after another stopped by and joined in. "What? Have we moved to some other country? Maybe we've died and gone to heaven!" I thought. Unloading actually became fun as we connected with so many wonderful new friends as we worked. The more people that helped, the easier the work became. A job we were afraid might take days for the two of us alone was done in just a few hours. Many total strangers would either walk by or drive by to ask us if we were moving in. Many were delighted that this fine old house that had sat empty for so long was coming to life again. We were invited to an outdoor meal yesterday by neighbors on the same street. All the while, my brain was on this new sense of hope that people could be outgoing and kind to strangers. Among all the conversations were lots of offers to be of help to one another in a variety of ways. It's wonderful to live in such a kind little town. I feel so grateful to be here, and wish the rest of the world could see how an entire society can be a model for what it's like to look out for one another. I used to stay away from friendships with strangers, but now I live in Defiance! When offered help, the author at first felt  _  .
grateful surprised embarrassed excited