Two recent stories prove two things: first that there is much more to the news than what happens in Washington; second, that sportsmanship and compassion are alive and well.

photo: Christian Petersen

In the 5000-meter race of the Track and Field World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Jonathan Busby of Aruba, near exhaustion, was helped by another competitor in the race.

“…it was so hot that Jonathan Busby collapsed during the [race]. “When fellow runner Braima Suncar Dabó from [the West African country of] Guinea-Bissau saw what happened, he caught up with Busby and put his arm around him. …

“Busby finished in Dabo’s arms to huge cheers at the Khalifa International Stadium,” The Daily Mail reported (Sept. 27).

“Dabo sacrificed his own race but still ran a personal best of 18 minutes 10.87 seconds, although Busby was disqualified.”

Both may have lost the race, but Dabo’s selfless act will forever be remembered as an example for all of us as to what is truly important.

In another recent story, a Los Angeles police officer shared a video of a homeless woman singing in LA’s metro station. Posted on social media, the video soprano quickly spread.

LA’s NBC-4 tells us more.

“The mystery woman turned out to be Emily Zamourka, a woman who grew up in Russia and dreamed of being a singer. Zamourka possesses a beautiful voice, but a run of rotten fortune has left her homeless and singing in the subway.

“ ‘You know why I do it in the subway?’ Zamourka asked. ‘Because it sounds so great.’

“In recent times, Zamourka played a violin to entertain, but she says her violin worth $10,000 was stolen.

“ ‘It was my income,’ she said. ‘It was my everything to me.’

“So, she turned to the instrument that could not be taken: her voice,” NBC reports.

However, after a recent illness, Zamourka was left homeless. “ ‘I’m sleeping where I can sleep.’

“On Thursday, Zamourka was singing at a Metro Purple Line station in Koreatown when an LAPD officer recorded a video that has now been shared tens of thousands of times.

“But as curious people searched for Zamourka to hear her story, she had no idea that she was on television and going viral on the internet–until her friends called her.”

“It’s a simple phone,” Zamourka said, “and then people started to call me…”

“She says she did not go to music school and has no formal training but would not turn down the opportunity to sing on stage.”

And now, her dreams are coming true. Zamourka has been offered a recording contract.

As reported by Classic FM (Oct. 3), “Since a video of her performance was shared by an LAPD officer on Twitter last Friday, it has had more than 974,000 views, and users of the platform can’t seem to get enough of her beautiful voice.

“It would seem their calls for the 52-year-old singer to be offered a record deal have now been heard, as Grammy-nominated music producer Joel Diamond (known for launching David Hasselhoff’s music career) has just asked her to collaborate with him on a new track. …

“The record contract would include an initial album, titled Paradise, to be released on Diamond’s long-standing label, Silver Blue Records. …

“But her online support doesn’t end there, as Several GoFundMe pages have also been set up to help her cause and already raised more than $73,000.

“Zamourka has yet to confirm whether she will accept Diamond’s record deal, but the warm support from online fans has strengthened her faith: ‘If it’s God’s will for my life to change, then I will praise him and I will be so grateful to anyone who is trying to help me to get off of the streets.’ ”

On Saturday, Zamourka was asked to sing at the grand opening of the new Little Italy in San Pedro, at the invitation of L.A. City Councilman Joe Buscaino.

Lesson: “You are more than you appear to be.” — Ernest Holmes.