The Summer Job - 29. Human Interest

Someone had the local ABC affiliate on the television in the living room. They started with national and local news, sports and weather, and then they came to their Good News segment.

Three windows appeared on the screen with the reporters Phillip had talked to earlier in the day.

“Hi I am Daniel Sokolsky, and I’m with my colleagues Matt Stevens of Fox and Stacy Scott of the Banner.”

The two other reporters gave a perfunctory, “Thanks Dan.”

Stacy Scott said, “We went to cover a story today and met an outstanding young man who is new to our community.”

Matt Stevens continued, “Yesterday a boy in the YMCA’s Day Campers program went to Phillip Wright, a young man all the boys consider a good, smart big brother not so feeling well. He called this woman.”

A recording of Mrs. Carlson started: “Phillip texted me that he had a boy in some distress and I talked to him. His symptoms were alarming enough for me to advise them to come to the hospital right away. Phillip put me on hold, got the boy’s mother in a three-way call and I explained the situation to her. She arrived at the hospital minutes before Phillip arrived with the boy, and we were able to see him immediately. He had a condition that if left alone would have been life-threatening.”

An off camera voice asked, “I understand your son is one of Phillip’s closest friends.”

Mrs. Carlson replied, “Yes and, I’m glad he is. He’s a great influence on my son. You meet a lot of people in life and, it’s not as simple as the good guys wearing white. Phillip isn’t just one of the good guys. He’s a great guy.”

The scene changed to Mayor Jefferson: “It was a huge surprise but, the doctors here at County were able to operate and, after a CAT scan, believe that my Rodney is cancer free.”

Stacy Scott said, “We sat down with Phillip and his boss Mr. Campbell this afternoon.

Phillip was more than a little horrified when he appeared on camera. It must have been that gadget sitting on the table!

Mr. Campbell: “This is Phillip Wright. We hired him for the summer to take care of the building and, he’s done an outstanding job. We didn’t plan for it to turn out this way but, the kids love him. They tell me he’s like having a good, smart big brother around. He’s wonderful with them, and they follow him around like puppies. We’ve changed his job. He still has duties keeping our facility running but, he’s got more time to talk to the boys.”

Stacy Scott: “How did this come about Phillip?”

Phillip: “I’m not much older than they are and, I don’t intimidate them like an adult might.”

Daniel Sokolsky: “What kind of questions do they ask?”

Phillip: “One of the big ones is how do I keep my little sister or brother from bugging me?”

Matt Stevens: “How do you keep your little sister or brother from bugging you? I wish I’d known that in middle school.”

Phillip: “That’s an easy one. When they’re bugging you, they want attention. Talk to them or, play with them. If you’re too busy, tell them you’ll play with them later.”

“That was an easy one. I get hard ones too and, I’ve got some good trained staff here to help. The question yesterday was medical in nature. I’m no doctor, so I called my friend’s Mom who is a nurse. She talked to Rodney on the phone and decided he needed to be seen right away. I conferenced Rodney’s Mom in on the call and, with her permission, took Rodney to the hospital.”

Stacy Scott: “So, you’ve got help answering their questions?”

Phillip: “Very good help. I’m quite aware that I don’t know all the answers.” Indicating Mr. Campbell with a gesture, “We do have people here with the right degrees and, I have a little network of people with specific knowledge that can help when the questions go off into deep water.”

Matt Stevens: “What do you want to be when you grow up Phillip?”

Phillip: “I’m not sure yet. I think I’d like to be a doctor. The Navy is kind of a tradition in our family, so I’m probably going to do that, at least for a while.”

Stacy Scott: “How did you learn to be such a good big brother?”

Phillip (in obvious distress): “I learned from the example of my best friend Javier. He lived next door and, was two years older than me but, he always had time for me. No one could ask for a better big brother or, could one have been more patient. Growing up, he was always there. I mean, he could have blown me off, but he never did. I could talk to him about anything. Growing up with him around was... amazing.”

“One Saturday last March, my Mom and Javier’s Mom Angelica needed to go shopping. I had the flu and couldn’t go. Javier went with them. All three were killed in a bad accident.”

Stacy Scott: “I know this is hard for you. Do you need to stop?”

Phillip: “Not yet. Everything I learned about being a good big brother, I learned from Javier. Even now I think, jeez, I wish I could talk to Javier about this or that or, just talk to him at all. If I’ve been any good here, if I’ve done well here, it was Javier’s influence.”

“Javier taught me to treat everybody like I was glad to see them. It’s amazing how well that works.”

“He told me something that always stuck with me: ‘Just try to be a good person. There are so many people that don’t even try; the attempt alone makes you stand out.’”

“I haven’t talked about this much. It’s hard and, I’m still grieving over it.

Back in his living room, Mikie and Randy were holding Phillip like bookends. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Casey was standing at the door rubbing his eyes and, it wasn’t the onions.

The next segment featured an older man with white hair and amused expression.

Matt Stevens asked, “I’m with renowned pediatrician Doctor Uriah Carlyle. Tell me Doctor, having seen this, what do your opinion of Phillip’s counseling?”

The Doctor replied, “It’s brilliant. When kids are talking to doctors and nurses, they’re scared, and they’re not feeling well. Talking to a young person is much easier for them. The Wright boy isn’t doing this without backup and, he’s obviously a bright, conscientious young man. He consults with professionals when he needs to and, if he can get them talking, we can help them. We need to study Phillip’s methods and see if we can make more general use of them. I heard the part about him considering medicine as a career. I’ll gladly sponsor him at Duke when he’s ready. He’s obviously got a gift.”

The next segment stunned Phillip. It was Javier’s Dad, Reverend Perez in a teleconference.

Stacy Scott asked, “Can you tell us about Phillip growing up?”

Reverend Perez smiled and said, “The first time we met him, he was four. He came out to meet us when we first moved in and asked my six-year-old Javier if he wanted to be friends. They were inseparable until the accident.”

A picture of a much younger Phillip and Javier sitting on bikes smiling at the camera appeared on the screen.

Stacy Scott said, “Phillip gives your son a lot of credit for teaching him some very good life lessons.”

Reverend Perez replied, “This does not surprise me at all. Phillip is very generous but, I think they taught each other much. It was clear watching them grow up that they were two very special boys. Seeing that some of Javier lives on in Phillip touches me deeply. I have been recovering from this tragedy myself. I have stepped away from the pulpit since it happened to heal. Phillip’s example inspires me to get back to work.”

Daniel Sokolsky: “Phillip has made quite an impact locally.”

Wanda Garner, Seth and David’s Grandmother, appeared on her front porch and said, “My boys have had serious problems with bullying in school. I’m glad Phillip has taken them under his wing. You can tell he’s special.”

Mrs. Hendrix appeared on her front lawn: “With all the bad things out there influencing our boys, someone like Phillip is a real gift.”

Mrs. Larkin, Bryan and Andy’s mother said, “Phillip is amazing. Our two boys have fought like cats and dogs for the last year. One day Bryan talks to him, the next he sits down with Andy and, they’ve made peace. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Daniel Sokolsky said, “And there you have it ladies and gentlemen: rising from tragedy to triumph by serving others, Phillip Wright is our Person of the Week.”