Samaritan

Baltimore businessman and political activist Raymond V. Haysbert was in critical condition last night at Good Samaritan Hospital after he collapsed about 6: 30 p.m. at a fund-raiser in Northeast Baltimore.The former chairman of Parks Sausage Co., Haysbert, who is in his late 70s, collapsed after speaking to about 200 people at the event sponsored by the North Central Democratic Coalition to raise money for Sylvia Williams' campaign for a 3rd District City Council seat."He was speaking, and he just fell backward," said Ruth Sparks, who held the event at her home in the 2500 block of Montebello Terrace.

On April 4, 2003, CATHERINE JARRETT ZELKO, died at the Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm Beach, Florida, following a sudden illness; beloved wife of Edwin C. Zelko; daughter of Beverly L. Jarrett and the late James G. Jarrett; loving cousin of Douglas and Linda Lamm. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 P.M. on Sunday, April 13, 2003 at the Temple Beth Israel, 2090 Hollywood Drive, York, Pennsylvania. The family will be at home Sunday, April 13, and Monday April 14 from 7 to 9 P.M. at apartment 606, 11 Slade Avenue.

GOOD SAMARITANS still exist. A Pennsylvania reader sends this report of a recent incident that provides gratifying proof:There he was, stranded on a four-lane highway, only 30 minutes from his York, Pa., home. He was returning one recent Saturday from his Princeton reunion (Class of '40-something) when a tire went flat.With a back condition that precludes working with a jack, no mobile phone and no phone booth in sight, he ponders his fate. Cars zoom by, ignoring his distress signal, when voila!

Sometimes I feel like the desk sergeant who's always answering the phone. (Ring) Yeah. You want to report what? A good Samaritan? What's your name, ma'am? Deborah Bradford. OK, what happened?You were on I-95 southbound from the city. You got a flat. You had your 2 1/2 -year-old son, Christopher, with you. You pulled over and called for help on your CB. A guy pulled behind you in a truck. He got out and fixed your tire in the freezing cold. You offered him five bucks, but he turned it down.

Dallas -- I DUG INTO my pocket and gave a buck to a street person the other day. Does that make me a good Samaritan -- or a sucker?The disheveled fellow said he was hungry and needed some money for food -- a point that hit home with me since I was walking into a restaurant for lunch when he approached me. From what I could tell, the man seemed to be speaking the truth. He was hollow-eyed and haggard.Still, my momentary compassion came not without some skepticism. Only a week before, in virtually the same spot, a desperate-looking woman had asked me for a dollar or two. Her car, she explained, had just run out of gas and she needed to get home.

From: Edward BogdanLinthicumOn a rainy Monday afternoon, Dec. 2, my father's car was parked on the shoulder of I-695 with a flat tire. It wasn't a day conducive for an 81 (year-old) adult to change a tire.As my father waited inhis car, a man of Italian or Greek origin stopped and asked my father if he needed assistance. Needless to say, my father replied, "Yes."He told my father to sit in his car and proceeded to change the tire.A few minutes later, an Afro-American man driving a tow truck stopped to give assistance.

A Good Samaritan who stopped to help a stranded motorist on the Baltimore Beltway near the Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard exit early yesterday was pistol-whipped and robbed of $260, county police said.According to police, Michael A. Brendel, 24, pulled over to help the motorist about 1 a.m. As Mr. Brendel, of the 2700 block of Wilkens Avenue, connected jumper cables to the battery of his car, the motorist smacked him with a gun and demanded his money.Mr. Brendel gave him the money and the motorist got back into his car -- a dark-colored Ford Thunderbird -- and drove west.

A Laurel man who got himself and a Dutch tourist free airline trips, hotel rooms and limousine rides in Florida this summer by claiming the tourist was cheated by a New York cabbie is being sued by a disabled veteran who contends he was defrauded of more than $18,000.Arnold B. Miller argues that the allegations of Alfred B. Chiesa of Arnold are groundless and he is seeking to have the suit dismissed.A hearing on the motion was argued in Howard County Circuit Court this past week.Circuit Judge Raymond Kane Jr. said he would issue a decision later.

The concept of the Good Samaritan often seems on a par with Chessie the Bay Creature: You've heard of the character but believe it is a figment of someone's imagination.Too often, a neighbor's concerns are not our own. We shrink from getting involved even when our help is needed. Alienation is so widespread it may well be a national psychic wound.Then an item arises that suggests hope. A Guilford woman last Tuesday was rescued from an attacker who had entered her home in mid-afternoon and threatened to rape her and kill her infant.

MOUNT GERIZIM, Israeli-Occupied West Bank -- The chants abruptly ended and flashing knives slit the throats of 40 sheep. Then, the gathered Samaritans reached into the blood to smear their faces, a red badge to prove they still survive after 3,000 years.The sacrifice last Sunday on this Nablus mountain, where Samaritans believe Adam met Eve and Abraham readied to kill Isaac, marked the start of Passover for the ancient sect.The violent nature of the old ceremony contrasts with the quiet adaptability of modern Samaritans that has helped them survive in a land torn by hatreds.