Danny Trejo rescues trapped baby: The power of joy in hard times

In a week filled with bad news, let’s look at some good news.

Actor Danny Trejo helped rescue a baby trapped in an overturned car in Los Angeles last Wednesday. Video shows him at the scene where two cars crashed. He says he crawled into the wrecked vehicle from one side but couldn’t unbuckle the child’s car seat from that angle. 

Another bystander, a young woman, was able to undo the buckle. Together, they pulled the baby safely from the wreckage. 

The same day, a man who became wedged between rocks in the Cambodian jungle was rescued after being trapped for nearly four days. He slipped Sunday while trying to retrieve his flashlight, which had fallen into the small rocky hollow. His family began searching for him when he didn’t return after three days. 

After his brother found him, about two hundred rescue workers spent ten hours chipping away the rock that pinned him. He was freed and taken to a local hospital. 

The story behind the stories 

Why did these stories make the news? 

People help people all the time. If the unnamed woman in Los Angeles had rescued the baby without the actor’s help, I doubt her story would have made headlines. If the man in Cambodia had been lost in a jungle rather than wedged between rocks, his rescue would probably not have been reported globally. 

I also wonder if these stories would have received so much attention during a week not dominated by mass shootings and their aftermath. We’re attracted to celebrities and unusual events, of course. But when they bring us good news during hard days, they’re especially powerful. 

A motorcycle in Times Square 

Anxiety continues to escalate in America, especially among young people. According to recent data, nearly half of college students surveyed “felt overwhelming anxiety over the previous year.” A third “had problems functioning because of depression.”