Just when humankind's inhumanity seems to overpower civilized life, it's helpful to pause for a moment and look around at the acts of human goodness that exist in far greater numbers than the acts of evil that dominate the news.
Consider the decency of the family and friends of Jon Francis, the 24-year-old hiker who vanished in the Sawtooth Mountains a year ago in July. With virtually no hope he would be found alive, family and friends continued to search the forbidding, craggy slopes to ensure Jon's remains would be found and provided a caring and loving burial.
The iconic nexStage Theatre is no longer threatened with extinction. The determined director, Kathy Wygle, stirred the town's benefactors to raise $1.5 million so the theater building could be bought and preserved.
And what a difference two 9-week-old puppies will make in due course for some disadvantaged or disabled persons, once volunteers working with Positive Partners Assistance Dogs train the dogs. Is there any more joyous sight than a happy dog wagging its tail for a new owner?
Hailey resident Theresa Grant's Make a Difference yard sale today and tomorrow surely shows just how big one person's heart can be: Working through Courage To Be You, Grant is raising funds for schooling of 22 children in Tanzania and providing subsistence for a mother and two babies near Kilimanjaro.
Up north, now for 23 years running, Camp Rainbow Gold and its dogged volunteers and donors are staging summer fun for children with cancer who rarely have a break from their illness.
The Sun Valley Symphony is packing the house with its summer series, which delivers the beauty of music and its calming effects.
Led off by country music's Dwight Yoakam in concert tonight at River Run, the Wood River Community YMCA kicks off a full weekend of fundraising events to benefit the new Y in Ketchum. Fun, yes. But this extravaganza of events also means every dollar is given to brighten and enrich the lives of young people using the Y.
Keep looking. Goodness is easy to find, if only we take the time to notice.
