PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 24, 2021
Amazon driver gains national attention by
fi xing Christmas decorations in Keizer
Feel -Good
STORY
Saluting the people that make
us proud of our community
presented by
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The day began as an ordinary Saturday
morning for Tyrone Wallace.
As a delivery driver for Amazon,
Wallace was making the rounds in Keizer
on Dec. 11 when he came across a house
that had its front porch holiday decora-
tions blown over by a windstorm from the
previous evening.
Wallace calmly set the package on the
front step, then took a couple minutes to
put the decorations back up in their right-
ful place.
After he fi xed up the front porch,
Wallace gave a quick wave to the security
camera and went about his day.
“I have done stuff like that before. I
didn't think I would ever get recognized
for doing something like that. I just
wanted to do the right thing,” Wallace
said.
However, Wallace's small act of kind-
ness left a large impression on the recipi-
ent of the gesture.
Just before 10 a.m., Miriam Sierra
received a notifi cation from her security
system that a package had been deliv-
ered. When she checked the video foot-
age, she witnessed Wallace fi xing up her
decorations and was blown away by his
willingness to go out of his way to help
her out.
“I was shocked about how strategically
he put everything back into place. He
really took his time and was intentional,”
she said. “It was amazing to see. I didn't
think people did things like that any-
more. He just seemed like a really humble
person.”
Sierra reached out to Amazon to show
her appreciation for Wallace's willingness
to go the extra mile. She then contacted
KPTV to tell them about the video, which
is when the story spread like wildfi re.
Sierra was contacted by multiple media
outlets from across the country, wanting
to learn more about Wallace's good deed.
“I had no idea it would gain this much
recognition,” Sierra said. “I just felt like
he needed to be recognized.”
Miriam was able to get in contact with
Tyrone Wallace fixes Christmas decorations while making a delivery to a Keizer home.
Submitted photo
LIFE
Wallace via Facebook to thank him for his
act of kindness. Wallace said he was hum-
bled by Sierra's gratitude.
“The recognition has been astonish-
ing,” Wallace said. “It took me by surprise
when she reached out. It was nice to talk
to someone that truly cared. Not every-
one is as sweet as Miriam.”
Other than a few of his coworkers call-
ing him “showbiz,” Wallace says that his
life really hasn't changed that much since
the video, which is fi ne by him. He just
hopes that his story will motivate others
to follow his example.
“We need more people out there doing
the right thing,” Wallace said.
Love Hard predictable but delightful
BY JORDAN REID
For the Keizertimes
Remember that one Christmas
movie where a woman who is down
on her luck (yet is still fi ercely inde-
pendent) falls for a guy who lives in
a town that is so small that every-
one knows each other’s names? Too
vague? You know the one… she has a
sassy best friend, the guy has a sassy
grandma, and a lie or two causes holi-
day shenanigans until everything goes
sideways and feelings get hurt but not
too badly because everyone learns to
be better people by the end and our
two leads kiss and everything is merry
and bright? Oh wait, I am describing
every Christmas rom-com ever writ-
ten. This includes Netfl ix’s new hol-
ly-decked Love Hard, a fi lm that does
Nina Dobrev (right) and Jimmy O. Yang star in Love Hard.
Netflix
very little to distinguish itself from the
competition; although it does indeed
off er a few genuine laughs on the way
to its predictable ending.
If you feel like I spoiled the ending
for you just now, then you’ve probably
never seen a movie before. Although
the set up to Love Hard (a portman-
teau of Love Actually and Die Hard,
although I think I would have gone
with Die Actually, myself) sounds
vaguely interesting-- the guy the
woman falls in love with was actu-
ally catfi shing her, which she fi nds
out the hard way when she shows up
in his small town to surprise him for
Christmas. But it still hits all of the
holiday rom-com tropes with a feverish
gusto in its attempts to reconcile the
slightly problematic premise (I don’t
think it’s a super great idea to convey
the message that if you lie on a dating
profi le you might still end up with the
girl) with the expected happy ending.
Remember the sassy, high strung yet
likeable boss that I mentioned in the
fi rst paragraph? Yeah, I didn’t mention
him, but I bet you knew he was in here.
Other than the two leads themselves,
every character in this movie gives the
impression that they just jumped out
of a cartoon, and all of them (including
the leads) are just as two-dimensional
as well.
The thing is, I did indeed chuckle a
few times while watching Love Hard,
and even found it pretty charming. The
jokes land admirably when the script
isn’t dragging out well-discussed topics
and treating them like they are original
witty observations (we know, movie,
the lyrics to “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
are problematic and the idea of Santa
can be kind of creepy), which is a credit
to the cast and writers. Love Hard may
have all of the touchstones of an assem-
bly line made Hallmark Christmas
movie, but it touches on them much
more competently than it has any right
to. The end result? I didn’t want to turn
off my TV and throw myself into a fur-
nace, which is more than I can say for
most Christmas movies.
So maybe I’m being a bit hard
on Love Hard. In today’s volatile world,
maybe a little predictability with a few
laughs sprinkled in is just what the
doctor ordered.
Love Hard is now available on
Netfl ix.
Review