LAURINBURG — Scotland County resident Daniel Baxley witnessed an act of kindness on Tuesday and decided it deserved to be shared with others.

Baxley took to his Facebook page to acknowledge Parker Smith for helping others. At the time, he had no idea who the young man was.

“This is what I’m talking about,” said Baxley. “The older black lady, seen in the photo, ran out of gas and this young white guy stops in the traffic leaves his door open, helps her back to the car and carries her gas. He didn’t worry about what anyone thought or even worry about his truck — all he was worried about was this lady’s safety — but the media makes us think there is a race problem today.”

The good deed took place on Tuesday on Hwy. 401 near Walmart amidst the gas shortage. While others were scurrying to fill up their tanks, Smith was taking the time to make a difference.

“This right here, my friends, is what it’s all about,” posted Baxley.

Baxley’s post continued by asking for the identity of the young man and asking others to share the post to make Parker’s kindness spread.

It was not until his post had been shared that he learned who Smith was.

In response to Baxley’s post, Scotland County resident William Skipper said, “I’m pretty sure that this is Parker Smith. This does not surprise me at all, he is always helping somebody. He is an awesome young man.”

Shelley Diane White described Smith as a kind-hearted young man, as a response as well.

Why it was shared

Baxley said with everything going on in today’s society, Smith’s act of kindness touched him.

“I work for a company called Compassionate Counseling Service out of Rockingham,” said Baxley “I was shown compassion when I was a heroin addict for a very very long time and I have now been clean for a while … July 19 will be two years.

“I believe the actions of Parker Smith showed what compassion and humanity are and we don’t see enough of this through our local and state media in today’s society,” Baxley added.

Because of this, Baxley said he felt the need to show it himself.

“This really didn’t have anything to do with the gas issue,” said Baxley. “It was all about loving our neighbors no matter what color or race they are.”

Attempts were made to contact Smith, however he was unavailable at the time. The identity of the woman who was helped remains unknown.

“I wish more people would do more of this, but our big chain news companies don’t want to show it,” said Baxley. “Instead they would rather show something to cause more chaos than something that brings us together as people.”

JJ Melton can be reached at jmelton@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com. To support the Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com/subscribe.