Since last Thursday, I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness and compassion and what makes someone, say, dedicate his whole career to caring for Boston’s homeless populations. Last week I heard Dr. Jim O’Connell speak about his work at Boston Health Care for the Homeless. I was at a community outreach/networking event for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) participants, alumni, and interested students—basically a big lovefest for people like me who want to care for underserved populations. Dr. O’Connell’s talk really struck a chord with me. I have so much respect and awe for people who work with the most underserved of the underserved: the homeless, drug addicts, those with severe mental illness, prisoners, just to name a few. There seems to be something really different about the people who spend their time caring for the people that the rest of us try to avoid or ignore. I have no idea what it is, but I want to be around it. I’m pretty sure that it is infectious.