Kicker: Filling a void

NICK EICHER, HOST: Twenty-four years ago. South Bend, Indiana. A police lieutenant Gene Eyster was dispatched to rescue an abandoned newborn.

Sound from CBS News:

EYSTER: That was one of the strangest calls I think I’ve ever had: “We have a found baby in a box.” You always wonder, what, what happened?

You know it took years to find out, but a fellow officer rang him up just a few weeks ago. He said, “Gene, you’re not going to believe this, but the baby in the box? He’s my rookie officer, and he’s sitting right here!”

Rookie Matthew Hegedus-Stewart.

STEWART: Full circle moment. That hit home. I can only imagine from his point of view.

Stewart now wears the same uniform. He patrols the same neighborhoods his rescuer Officer Eyster did all those years ago.

And for his part, Eyster sees a divine hand in all this. Sadly, his only son died suddenly this January.

EYSTER: So the timing couldn’t be any better to help fill a void that I’ve had to deal with.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

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