Mailbag: Good Samaritans still exist in the world

On Thursday morning, after our food pantry closed, a car pulled up to the Laguna Relief and Resource Center. The driver had found a mother and two children wandering at the beach with no place to sleep, so she brought them to us next door to the homeless shelter.

Because the shelter can’t accommodate kids, one of our volunteers got the mother online to find a place to sleep. The driver, meanwhile, made coffee, helped stock our shelves for Friday’s shoppers, herded the children, found them toys, and waited patiently, as if there were nothing more important to do. An hour later, she packed up the family with their food and toys and drove them to their destination.

Fortunately, good people keep showing up in bad times.

Andy Siegenfeld

Laguna Beach

The writer is the chairman of the Laguna Relief and Resource Center.

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Grateful that canyon trees will be spared

I wanted to express my gratitude to the mayor and the members of the City Council for taking a second look at the great eucalyptus trees that populate upper Bluebird Canyon, and for allowing them to continue to stand (“Canyon trees saved from ax,” Dec. 9).

I know it was not an easy decision, but I believe it was the right decision. The trees are strong, as is the city’s resolve to protect them. Our assignment now is to make the council members proud of their ruling by paying closer attention to these “giants” among us, to keep them within the Edison guidelines, and to coexist.

Hopefully, the disagreement that arose among the neighbors will be tempered by nothing more profound than our common love for the city of Laguna Beach. For the majority of the folks in upper Bluebird, there is a newfound respect for the rare and fragile beauty that surrounds us.

Mace Morse

Laguna Beach