Just saw a photo of a firefighter with a rescued kitten from the Los Angeles wildfires. But his helmet said “Bombero,” Spanish for firefighter. Yes, I expected help to come from all over California, including Templeton, where firefighters pulled me from a wrecked car years ago. And help came from neighboring states. But from Mexico?

My feelings were mixed, I admit. On one hand, I was gratified to see help come from our neighbors to the south. But as one who spent his life in a helping profession, I had a problem with accepting help myself. It was not so much a macho thing, but a reversal of how things were supposed to be. I help you, you don’t help me. We send help to Mexico, they don’t send help to us.

But then I looked at the kitten he was holding. You think the kitten cared whether his helmet said Firefighter or Bombero? Not one iota. All the kitten knew was the warm heart of a rescuer. Maybe we all could learn from that kitten. Maybe human hearts don’t come with artificial, man-made labels. Maybe they just come as warm or cold.