"My philosophy in life is that we should always look out for others,
especially the less fortunate, and if we do, God will take care of us.”
- Joseph N. Marchese (My Father)
In today’s world, it is easy to become overwhelmed by negative headlines and troubling events. Too often, the focus is placed on what is going wrong, and in doing so, we sometimes overlook what is going right. What we fail to notice—because it rarely makes the news, is that every single day, ordinary people are quietly doing extraordinary things for others; these are our everyday heroes.
Here in Darien, we are surrounded by “heroes.” They are the teachers in our schools who arrive early or stay late to give a child the one-on-one attention they need to succeed. They are the members of our community organizations, such as the Darien Lions, who dedicate their time and resources to supporting programs for those with hearing and sight impairments. They are the volunteers of the Darien Garden Club, who spend countless hours working to beautify our community and educating our youth, regarding the beauty of nature and the importance of caring for our environment.
These examples are just a small sampling of what takes place each and every day in our city; people helping people, not for recognition or reward, but because it is the right thing to do.
I was reminded of this perspective as a young boy during a difficult moment in our nation’s history. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I struggled to understand how something so terrible could happen in our country. I turned to my father and asked him if the world was really filled with bad people, and he looked at me and said, “Joe, there will always be bad things going on in our world, but there is more good in this world than gets noticed. He then added words that have stayed with me for more than 60 years, he stated: “My philosophy in life is that we should always look out for others, especially the less fortunate, and if we do, God will take care of us.”
Those words have shaped the way I see the world, and they continue to guide me today. True heroes are not found in comic books or on movie screens. They are found in our classrooms, our community groups, our neighborhoods, and our homes. They are everyday people who, as my father said, look out for others – especially the less fortunate.
Darien is a stronger, kinder, and better community because of them.