Ten-year-old Amber was made suddenly sad Sunday. She’d waited through the long, cold winter for the spring to finally come so she could ride her Bubble Pop bicycle and now, on a sunny and beautiful Easter morning, she found it missing.
“She was very surprised and saddened,” said Amber’s mom, Stephanie McChesney of Perry. “I was shocked. It’s been left outside before, but it was never taken. So I was also surprised.”
Amber had her pink Bubble Pop bike for about a year and was often seen flying through the neighborhood, with her brown hair streaming behind and little legs just a-going. Now it was gone, and she was crestfallen.
McChesney posted a Facebook picture of Amber on her bike, said it was stolen, gave a brief description, hoped for a long shot.
An old friend of the family, Mike Sherman of Perry, saw the post — felt it, rather — and reached out to McChesney with an offer to help.
“He messaged me,” McChesney said, “and I told him not to worry about it but thank you for the offer.”
But Sherman was determined. It turns out that his mother used to babysit McChesney’s mother, so with a few discreet inquiries, he was able to learn the size and color of the stolen bike and soon made a special delivery.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,” McChesney said. “Here it was the next day. Amber flew off the couch and ran outside. She was elated and told him thank you, and we all gave hugs.”
Amber was soon back in her element, racing down the way on her brand new spring bicycle.
“I’m just so grateful for his kind deed,” McChesney said. “For someone to do something for another without expecting in return is something I don’t see often. He’s a good man.”
Holly Lane-Helveston, a friend of McChesney, was similarly enthusiastic on her Facebook post.
“Mr. Sherman, thank you for your kindness!” Lane-Helveston said. “You don’t know how happy you have made a little girl. We need more selfless people in the world. God bless you!”
