PERRYVILLE STORE GIVES QUIETLY

For 10 years, Rozier's Mercantile of Perryville has embodied the best of the holiday spirit with absolutely no fanfare. Each year, the store has given young residents of Cape Girardeau's Cottonwood Residential Treatment Center name-brand athletic shoes.

Any parent of a youngster knows how important just the right shoe -- and the right brand logo -- can be to someone who is at an age when peer pressure and self-identity are becoming so important.

Cottonwood treats youths ages 6 to 17 with emotional disturbances or behavioral disorders. It is operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

No one will ever know the full impact of this annual display of good will by Rozier's -- which, by the way, still would prefer to maintain a low profile. But the folks at Cottonwood thought that after 10 years of doing something really good, the store deserved a little public credit.

Yes, indeed. It is the simple benevolence of folks like Charlie Lottes at Rozier's -- unselfish and unheralded -- that make the world a better place.

Thanks, Rozier's Mercantile. You probably do a lot of other good things we don't know about either.