Matthew Apgar - mapgar@shawmedia.com

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The people who do the most incredible, selfless things are usually the ones we have to drag into the spotlight, kicking and screaming.

I get it. DeKalb police officer Jeff Winters didnt give a homeless man food, water, pillows, a duffel bag and bug spray with the hopes of flashbulbs popping. After all, he didnt get interviewed the many other times hes done something similar in his nearly 23-year career.

Most folks dont ring Salvation Army bells, donate to GoFundMe pages, volunteer for nonprofits, all those philanthropic actions, for personal benefit. That is, unless you count the warmth it puts in their heart when they put another persons well-being ahead of their own.

Many of them do those things for the very same reason I like to write about their doing them: with the hope selflessness is contagious, and that it could inspire others to follow suit.

Its not that we dont want to better society. We just get so busy, dont we? If we drive by a motorist with a flat tire, we might think of stopping, but weve also got to get to work on time. On the way home? The kids have baseball in half an hour. No time to stop.

Maybe weve gotten too jaded to toss our change into a kettle, or into the bucket of a homeless person addressing drivers with a cardboard sign. Too many people just looking for a handout, right?

Winters put that into perspective for me, however.

We dont know why people are down on their luck. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. Sometimes, they come in waves. Many people dont choose their demons. Its the other way around.

What if a sandwich or, perhaps more powerfully, the compassion behind it, could be the turning point for someone who desperately needs a hand? What if feeling that someone cares could change the life trajectory for someone whos downtrodden?

The work done by beloved DeKalb High School teacher Ata Shakir dovetailed with Winters act of kindness. Shakir died far too soon, at age 41, Friday night. As a guy who doesnt live in DeKalb County yet, I was humbled to get a brief glimpse of Shakirs work, and the countless members of the community he touched, by speaking with his family and his peers.

Something his wife, Brenda, said stuck with me. A lot of what she said did, actually, but in particular, it was that she hurt so badly for the community because Shakir was going to keep making it better.

I figure the least we can do is our very best to pick up where he left off.

Getting to know Winters and Shakir as best I could reminded me of something: I might not be able to make the world a better place.

But we sure can.

Christopher Heimerman is the news editor at the Daily Chronicle. He can be reached at cheimerman@shawmedia.com.

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Heimerman: Officer reminds us of the golden rule | Daily Chronicle - DeKalb Daily Chronicle