October might not always be remembered as the nicest time in America’s history. Particularly when would speak of what transpired at Las Vegas in the recent days. Dull, hopeless and full of grim- the city of lights and grandeur has hardly ever seemed as dull as in the recent times.
Who would’ve thought that something as entertaining and harmless as a musical concert would see, by the end of it- several dead bodies, lying in messy splash of blood? But then, not every-day and every aftermath of a tragedy- hounded by darkness.
Just a few hours ago, international media was found buzzing with a story of hope; of survival and, a spirit of selflessness, typifying the quintessential American courage and zeal- that of a person being there for another in times of distress.
A young man, Tom McIntosh, who had gathered at the now widely known Mandalay Bay resort to partake in what was supposed to have been a happy-go-lucky musical weekend, shared the story of his saviour.
You read that right.
Suddenly finding himself amidst a skirmish- that of a sickeningly terrifying shooting spree that Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock had unleashed upon several hapless victims- Tom confessed he had his heart up in his mouth. But that’s not all, the young American citizen got caught up in what turned out to be an unavoidable maelstrom, stemming from the weird shooting incident.
Tom got shot at the leg and was bleeding profusely, and in his retelling of the events to American media, confessed about a stranger who saved his life. A fellow American, James Lawson, placed with the Army Reserves (with whom he is training as an EMT) came out of nowhere and saved his life.
In preventing the loss of a young American’s life, Lawson, who immediately rushed to Tom’s rescue, was able to tie his severely wounded leg with a makeshift tourniquet. He revealed to Today.com that with the help of another fellow around the shooting site Tom was helped to a medical van, that carried him to a nearby hospital.
That said, what stands out in this grim Vegas shooting incident that no one saw coming was the spirit of generosity extended by a man to another under dire circumstances. It isn’t too difficult to note the strange oblivious manner in which we often recede to only safeguarding ourselves and looking out for, at the most, only our known or dear ones.
Who comes forward to help another stranger in the face of mortal danger? Later on, Tom McIntosh was united with his American friend and saviour, Lawson and the duo embraced each other and evidently moved by the warmth and courage of Lawson, Tom’s emotions were apparent and for all to see. It is incidents like these that bring us close to one another and one reckons, not everything is bad or dull about our times. Isn’t it?