Too many times it seems we hear about young people who are disrespectful and rude and we worry about “the next generation.”

So it was refreshing this week to learn about Jamal Washington, a 7-year-old who was playing in his front yard when a funeral procession passed by on Nov. 25. He stopped what he was doing, stood at attention and put his hand over his heart as the procession went by.

The gesture so moved Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr., who happened to be in the funeral procession, that he decided to do commend this young boy and purchased him a bicycle as a reward.

“This young man is an example to everyone,” the mayor said Tuesday as he presented Jamal his new bike. “I think we should reward young people when they do something good. We hear a lot about young people when they do something bad; we need to recognize them when they do something good.”

We could not agree with the Mayor more. We all love a feel good story. But this is also a learning story that all of us can gain something from.

It’s called respect, something Jamal has obviously learned from adults.

We commend the Mayor for recognizing Jamal with such a fine gesture and we salute Jamal for beign so respectful. But we also want to thank the parents, teachers and adults for teaching respect to such a fine young man.

Certainly something we all can learn from.