The old stuff doesn't hold in this yard. I later learned what he said didn't really hold true for all the inmates on the row, but it did for these 40 or 50. They were condemned, lepers in the eyes of society. Unfortunately, suffering sometimes teaches us lessons we don't seem to learn any other way. There are Palestinian and Jewish grandmothers who have suffered family loss in the conflict in their land yet have joined their voices for reconciliation.
Disasters often dissolve squabbles.
The unfortunate Trade Center destructions have brought together a lot in New York City who came from different neighborhoods and suburbs, people who never mixed until their suffering and grief united them. This band of lepers, who experienced suffering and expulsion were united in their misery. And they were cleansed. The man's next actions show the result of the realization of what really happened to him. He returns to glorify God and give thanks to Jesus.