Dear Editor:
In a distorted world which elevates athletes, actors and public figures to the status of hero, we overlook those who because of a lack of prominence, nevertheless, make the community a better place because of their presence in it. One such person was known to all as Billy, a senior citizen who resided at the Terrace Apartments in North Bergen.
He was a man who, outwardly, would seem to be just another person of no particular consequence, but that evaluation of him would quickly change once you became aware of him, for when you got to know him, you sensed the qualities which endeared him to those around him. This man who quietly walked his dog each day had a warmth about him which manifested itself in ways that many times remained unnoticed because of his unassuming manner. He would drive another tenant to a shopping center or assist a driver in starting an automobile with an attitude that suggested that it was only natural to help another person. And in less apparent ways like a morning greeting, Billy would discuss the weather conditions of the day or the headline of a newspaper with an enthusiasm over the subject matter and show you that he genuinely enjoyed the act of conversing with you.
It is not the life marked by celebrity that is to be admired but rather the quiet and modest one which is the symbol to be respected.
Howard Lawson