AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at Hidden Brain. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. And today's story comes from Ken Wilcox. In January 1993, Wilcox had just started a job in Washington, D.C. And a note - this story discusses the topic of suicide.
KEN WILCOX: And while it paid well and gave me some prestige, it really was a miserable job. My boss in New York was a real tyrant. Also, at the same time, so many of my friends were either getting sick or were dying from AIDS. One particular morning in January, after all the holiday decorations had come down and it was bitterly cold, I had gone out to a business meeting. But before I had left, I had gotten a call from my boss, who was angry about something, and I also got a call from a friend who was really telling me that he was dying from AIDS.
So I was walking Wisconsin Avenue back from my appointment, and I was just really feeling miserable, and I just didn't understand what the purpose of life was. The sidewalks were very busy, and I was in a hurry. So I was walking on the outside curb of the sidewalk. And as I was walking, a city bus came along, and it came so close to me that it brushed - I could feel it brush my right arm of my coat. And suddenly an idea came to me. And that idea was that I could wait on the next bus and just lean a little further out, and that bus could take me out of all of my misery.
And just as I had that thought, I looked up, and in the oncoming group of people on the left hand side of the sidewalk, there was this one woman. And she quite deliberately looked at me and sought out my eyes, and when she - we locked sight, she just gave me this beautiful, wonderful smile. She didn't say anything to me. She just smiled at me. And that one smile was enough to keep me going, to keep moving forward.
CHANG: That was Ken Wilcox of St. Augustine, Fla. Wilcox later said that the moment reminded him that no matter how horrible things felt, there was still room to hope. And soon after, he quit his job and eventually became a minister, a job that he loves.
WILCOX: And I have to marvel at the idea that all of that has come about because this one wonderful woman on a street in Washington, D.C., on a cold January day decided to smile at me. She is my unsunng hero.
CHANG: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, there are people who can help. Call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. You can find more stories like this on the "My Unsunng Hero" podcast.
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