This has been a trying year. Months before the shock of Sept. 11, this was a city rocked by a spring of racial tension and a summer of violence.

        And months before an entire nation honored heroic firefighters who rushed into the World Trade Center, Tristate firefighters were grieving the loss of one of their own during a horrifying blaze.

        Yet, the sense of the season lives in acts of goodwill and charity, and in a human spirit that rebounds.

        Here in the Tristate, the spirit of Christmas is there for the discovery. It can be found in a fallen hero, can be savored in the memory of a prayer and a hug after racial unrest, and can be seen in the face of a child just before his first American Christmas.

        “We did lose one of our own right here in Cincinnati,” says Steve Ober, Miami Township assistant fire chief. “I don't want people to lose sight of that.”

        It happened six months before two planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing almost 3,000 people, among them more than 300 New York City firefighters who had charged into the burning skyscrapers because that was their job.

        On March 8, firefighter Bill Ellison, 38, strapped on an air pack and charged into a burning Jordan Road home in Hamilton County's Miami Township in search of a woman who lived there.

        As he searched, a flame-weakened first floor gave way and Mr. Ellison fell 10 feet into the basement, suffering burns to more than 50 percent of his body. He died 12 days later, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters.

        Greater Cincinnati responded with blood drives and benefits, with collections and fish fries. One fish fry, held at the tiny Newtown fire house, attracted more than 3,000 people. Around the Tristate, people stopped by fire houses to bring dinner. Or just to express thanks.

        Sept. 11 was especially painful for firefighters. The profound sense of community felt by the nation in September had already been felt here in March.

        “If you had to find something good out of all disasters, that's probably the one good thing,” says Chief Ober, who fought the fire that day with Mr. Ellison. “That people do have a better appreciation for what firefighters, emergency personnel and police do on a day-to-day basis.”

        This Christmas, Chief Ob er finds solace in the tributes to Mr. Ellison.

        “It'll be a very solemn time around the firehouses, especially around here,” says Chief Ober. “This Christmas, while we're all enjoying spending time with our families, there will definitely be thoughts of Bill. And the others in New York. It's tough.

        “I think of Bill's family. But that's another thing we've done a lot this year — making sure we take care of our own.”

        Christmas morning is one of Archie Sherman's favorite times of the year. His Walnut Hills flower shop will be closed. Time for family.

        This season, he recalls something special from eight months ago. It was the third week of April. A Cincinnati police officer stopped by and asked him if he'd filed a police report.

        Sherman's Family Flower Shop has been a Walnut Hills institution since 1928. Mr. Sherman's parents started the business, and Mr. Sherman has run it since 1973.

        In April, rioting that had begun in Over-the-Rhine spilled into other neighborhoods, Walnut Hills among them. Shortly after midnight one night, the windows in Mr. Sherman's shop on Gilbert Avenue were smashed.

        “For the most part I'm one of those people who takes things in stride,” says Mr. Sherman, 72. “I tried to board the place up as best I could and was thankful it wasn't any worse and that no one was hurt.”

        Still, Mr. Sherman thought to himself, “Why me?” The African-American man had roots in his community, was active in civic affairs. Why his shop? Yet he wasn't angry.

        “I could feel some of the frustration that goes along with things like that,” he says. “I wouldn't do it myself, but I can understand it.”

        Police Officer Kevin Ballman, who is white, stopped to check on whether Mr. Sherman had filed a report. They began talking.

        “Just two men talking,” says Mr. Sherman. “Not a policeman and man whose windows just got broken. Just a couple of men.”

        Mr. Sherman's brother was at the shop. The police officer suggested they say a prayer.

        “So we held hands and prayed. We prayed for healing and understanding. After that he hugged both of us.

        “I haven't seen him since.”

        His name is Zachary.

        He is a six-month-old child from South Korea who was adopted by Finneytown residents Tina and Phil Wuorinen. Zachary will be spending his first Christmas in a country he has lived in for only three weeks.

        “He goes over and tries to get the bottom ornaments off the tree,” Mrs. Wuorinen said. “He's scooting around and getting into his big sister's stuff.”

        Big sister Alissa, who will be 3 in January, is also from South Korea. The Wuorinens adopted her two years ago.

        “This is probably going to be a more special Christmas because we have a larger family,” says Mr. Wuorinen.

        They began the paperwork to adopt Zachary in January. A month ago, they finally got word that they could travel to South Korea to bring their child home.

        So while warplanes pounded Afghanistan and the American public was still skittish about flying, a Cincinnati couple reached out from 6,700 miles away to bring a child to the United States.

        “We just feel very blessed, very blessed,” says Mrs. Wuorinen. “God has been very good to us.”

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