“Every time you do a good deed you shine the light a little farther into the dark."

There used to be a country music comedian, popular on the Grand Ole Opry and on stages all over the south, who was born Benjamin Ford, but was known as Whitey Ford (not to be confused with the Yankee pitcher of the same name).

Ford billed himself as The Duke Of Paducah, which is a city in McCracken County, Kentucky where he never lived (he was born in Missouri and died in Tennessee). I mentioned this fact in 7th grade, but the teacher (Mrs Goldstein) just looked at me with a look I've seen time after time when I go off on tangents.

Now, in 2021, I suggest a new person to be given the title of The Duke Of Paducah, and it's the man named Jim Finch, whom we all saw this week on the news.

Jim Finch was born in Paducah, lives elsewhere in KY, and like everyone else, he woke up on Saturday morning and saw the devastation wrought by the tornado late last Friday.

But most people saw the news, shook their heads and made vague promises to themselves to donate to Red Cross or other organizations arranging help for the people of Mayfield and other areas in the five-state swath of natural destruction.

Jim Finch

Jim Finch grabbed his grill and as much food as he could pick up in his pickup and drove half an hour to Mayfield, where he parked in the middle of what used to be the town, fired up the grill, and fixed people up with food for the body and soul.

“I know they don’t have electricity. No restaurants. No running water. I just figured I would do what I could do. So I showed up with some food and some water," is how he put it. 

He said it as simply and plainly as possible:

“We trying to feed the people. We got hamburgers, chicken, I got sausage, egg.”

A welcome sight!

“What a blessing he is. He is warming hearts and bellies with his act of kindness,”   wrote a Twitter tweeter.

“Such a kind human being. I am humbled by his generosity of spirit!” said another.

 Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that when the big local business, a candle factory, collapsed in the mighty wind, more than 100 people were inside, working.

“That will be, we believe, the largest site, the largest place of loss,” the governor told the Weekend TODAY show.

There is despair and there is hope, thanks to people like Jim Finch, who chose to act and help.

By the way,  Whitey Ford was known for ending his shows with this gag:  "I'm goin' back to the wagon, boys, these shoes are killin' me."

Let's hope that when his time and work in Mayfield are over, the new Duke will be known worldwide for his kindness and service to others.