Maybe now is the time to talk about the banks. No, not the financial institutions. Not even The Banks, a new neighborhood proposed for a city surfeited with troubled old neighborhoods.

        I would like to propose some attention for the banks of the stream.

        Usually, I like to listen to the wisdom of others, then put it into my own words, which are usually not as good as their words. But because my words are more or less passable and because The Cincinnati Enquirer provides a generous supply of ink, those are the words you usually get from me.
       

Generosity noted
               Just this once, however, I'm going to give you better words, those of Will Durant, an American historian, philosopher and educator:

        Civilization is a stream. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoted, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happens on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.

        My e-mail, my voice mail and my snail mail are filled with news from the banks. A home health care nurse called to say she and some of her cohorts ignored the citywide curfew. Patients were depending on them. “And we went anyway,” she says.

        The Shriners are gearing up to help park cars at the Cincinnati Flower Show, which begins Wednesday in Ault Park. This is just one of the Shriners' projects that help pay for the extraordinary care available free of charge at Shriners Hospitals for Children.

        Meanwhile, Keith Crowley, a sophomore at McNicholas High School, sent $20 to the office of Mayor Charlie Luken for unrestricted use, “wherever somebody needs it.”

        Findlay Market was open this weekend, after rioters closed the market and vandalized shops there. Business was brisk.
       

Jobs and training
               Shari Einsel from the Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Association reminds me — again — that people who want to work can usually find some at a restaurant. Shari and I try to figure out how we can connect people who need jobs with restaurants that need help.

        “Probably the best way is just for them to walk into restaurants nearest them and fill out an application,” she says. “Most places will train employees. Scholarships are available, too.”

        In a not completely unrelated matter, Tracy Tomer needs clothes, money and volunteers. Not necessarily in that order. She's the director of operations for Dress for Success. The shop at 135 W. Fourth St. provides a free interview suit to women moving from welfare to work. She says they need just about everything: scarves, shoes, suits, blouses, but most especially plus sizes. (Call 651-3372.)

        All over town, people woke up this morning prepared to help. They will mentor children who do not belong to them. They will raise money for diseases they do not have. They will send money and prayers where they think these things might do the most good. Not everybody. Some people are just trying to keep their heads above water. And others are paddling as hard as they can away from shore.

        So, maybe now's the time to think about where we are. I mean each of us, individually. Are we in the stream or on the banks?

        E-mail lpulfer@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/pulfer.

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