Colonel Paul’s Corner – Angels Among Us

You don’t have to believe in religion to believe in angels. In fact, sometimes religion gets in the way. There are angels. There are only a few of them - very, very few. And they are alive. There are no dead angels. When an angel dies, the spark is lost. I have seen a few and heard of others.

The trucker who handed the waitress a hundred dollars and asked her to give it to the poor family back at the table in the corner, but not till after he left.

A businessman in a shiny Cadillac who pulled to the side of a muddy road to pick up a dog. Filthy, crippled, mangy and obviously starving. The dog was barely alive . A worthless reject maybe not remembering what food or a gentle caress was like. Then taking him to the Vet and paying to have the dog restored to health.

A teenage girl. Healthy and happy and not lacking the opportunity for fun with her friends. Instead, she spent each Saturday afternoon at the local nursing home. She read to the elderly residents. Mr. Williams had been without visitors for years. He thought she was his daughter and she told him no different. He died when they were only half way through Moby Dick. Now she will return to be someone else’s daughter or granddaughter.

The frisky little dog who ran into the room and jumped into the handicapped child’s lap and started licking him straight in the face amid giggles and hugs. Yes, some angels have more than two legs.

If you are a good person, you might make it as an angel. Opportunities abound. One word of caution, once you start you will have to continue for the rest of your life. Angels are not allowed to quit. You might well not ever see any visible reward. Your reward will be in remembering each small thing you did and how it might affect another life. At the end, your headstone will not reflect praise or glory because no one will know. You will only rest with your memories. But, maybe some unplanted flowers will grow above you every Spring.

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little”.
Edmund Burke, 1729-1797

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its sick, elderly, and most vulnerable”.
Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948
Hubert Humphrey, 1911-1978
Pope Francis, 1936-2025

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in”.
Greek Proverb

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now”.
Oriental Proverb

By Paul Warrick: November 29, 2025 - Great Falls, Mt