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LOGAN — If you want to hear the best version of “You Are My Sunshine” that you’ve ever heard, you’ve come to the right place.
But what makes it the best is not the quality of the singer’s voice or the arrangement; it’s more about the venue, the audience and the kind-hearted nature of the singer.
According to The Herald Journal, Logan police officer Kristian Johnson was called to the home of Shirley Hardman in mid-June. Hardman, who is blind, was home alone and her microwave wouldn’t stop beeping.
This may seem like the smallest problem in the world, but it was a significant worry for Hardman who had recently experienced a kitchen fire.
“It’s not uncommon for the elderly to need some help,” Johnson told The Herald. “There is just no one to help them, and they don’t know who else to call.”
As the body-cam video shows, Johnson is sweet and kind to Hardman as he spends a few moments resetting the microwave and showing Hardman what to do if it happens again. Then Johnson asks a question that I’m sure he asks dozens of times a week: “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
He probably didn’t expect to be gently coerced into singing the chorus from “You Are My Sunshine,” but I bet almost no one could refuse Hardman if they were in the same position.
Johnson doesn’t give a Grammy-winning performance (or necessarily stay in one key), but he does do the right thing to best serve his community in this moment. It’s no surprise that Johnson was named Patrol Officer of the Year for 2016 and is described by his leaders as “humble and respectful, honest and caring,” according to the Herald Journal.
“I’ll always remember this morning,” Hardman says in the video. Then the whole internet says a collective “aww” because we who witness this feel a little bit better about the world.
