Bedford Being Bedford: Random Acts of Kindness Can Mean the World

October 27, 2020

Small acts of kindness are always meaningful.

During a global pandemic, they can be sacred.

Ask Ann Seamans, who lives in a historic house on Concord Road and is one of the regular newscasters on Bedford TV.

Earlier this week she went out to run some errands, grabbing an address book so she could confirm some information at the post office. Not just any address book – a Filofax, which she has been using for more than four decades. “It had everything – my life, really,” she explained.

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Seamans never went into the post office – there was a line. When she returned home, the Filofax was gone.

“I looked everywhere – on my hands and knees searching the car. I retraced all my steps. I was despondent.”

Seamans said she normally doesn’t bother answering telephone calls that she doesn’t recognize. But something told her to check her phone’s history and return a particular number. “A very nice voice said, ‘This is Bob. I’m from the Bedford DPW. I was working on Loomis Street at Great Road and there was this book in the middle of the road.’”

It was Bob Luongo from the DPW Highway Division. “He told me he realized, ‘This is really important to someone.’”

How did he find her? All he had from the Filofax was a business card that Seamans used when she lived in London. On the back was her Bedford phone number. But the area code was 617 – so much for that clue. He even tried the Council on Aging.

Then Luongo turned to Google, and Seamans said he discovered that “I’m all over the Internet – because of Bedford TV.”

Seamans said that Luongo not only delivered the Filofax but joined her on her porch for a couple of hours for a conversation about Bedford history and how the town has changed. “We just had fun. And I told him what a great job they did on the roads all summer during the pandemic.”

In today’s world of instant messaging and unlimited data storage, it’s not easy to find a blank Filofax, never mind one replete with more than 40 years of contacts. So now its road trip is over, thanks to sensitivity and perseverance. “It was a kind, neighborly thing to do,” the owner said.

Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Click this link to learn more about The Bedford Citizen’s first community reporter.

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