I was inspired by a segment of 60 Minutes I watched this past Sunday.  The story was about the people in Wilmington, Ohio, who are in the grip of a brutal series of layoffs at DHL, the shipping company.  Before the layoffs, one of three households in Wilmington had a family member working at DHL.  As expected, the layoffs have left this town decimated.

I was particularly touched by the strong sense of community these folks displayed, reaching out to help the less fortunate until they no longer had the resources to help.  When some helpers stumbled, others reached out to those in the most dire need of help.  Once again, my cynicism of the increasing materialism of Christmas was allayed by a story of goodwill and hope.

One of the stories revolved around a mother who was laid off after her husband had passed away, leaving her with a young child to support on her own.  What made her plight even more difficult was the fact that her deceased husband hadn’t owned a life insurance policy, leaving the family with meager resources.  Working several part time jobs, she was barely able to keep her family afloat.

Based on her experience, life insurance was so important to her that she did everything she could to hold onto the policy she purchased after her husband passed away.  She even dropped her health insurance so she could continue making her life insurance payments.  Making sure her daughter wouldn’t have to suffer financially if she was no longer around to support her, she made the decision that her health would have to suffer rather than not providing for her daughter in the event of her death.  While I wouldn’t recommend her to drop her health insurance, I can’t argue her act of selfless giving.