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Six weeks ago the transmission went out on the van used by our special rehabilitation school for the blind. Transportation is a lifeline to our blind students, as it enables them to come to

learn daily living skills and to develop the self-confidence to be able to survive in a world without sight. There was no room in our already tight budget for major repairs, so we first

appealed to the motor company; but numerous long-distance phone connections were either missed or went astray. Next we wrote to them--but this is a waiting game and a long shot anyway. Then

we put out an SOS to the community. Businessmen from the Lions Clubs of Carlsbad, Harbor, Lemon Grove and North Park came to our rescue and paid the repair bills. This should have been

enough to this story--a nice Christmas-type Hollywood finish. But there’s more. This week, Pearson Ford officials gave us “goodwill relief” in the form of credit. Minor miracles still

happen. Most of our personal stories don’t end this way in real life because we all know by now it’s an unfair world. But keep on trying anyway. Occasionally, when a happy ending comes

along, it will reaffirm the main point and real message of the Christmas spirit: while there are a lot of people in our lives, it only takes a very few of them to change the world for the

better. WARREN J. SIMON Executive Director, San Diego Service Center for the Blind MORE TO READ