A widow asked whether someone could take her to the pharmacy once a month.

None of those requests was complicated, but each required somebody to answer and follow through.

We set rules.

Nobody went inside a stranger’s home alone.

Volunteers would not handle bank cards or withdraw cash.

If someone needed medical help, we would connect them with appropriate services rather than pretending friendship made us doctors.

Elise insisted on that last rule, reminding me that goodwill could cause harm if it drifted into promises we weren’t equipped to keep.

One Sunday a retired bus driver named Mr.