When Eli Manning led the Giants to win the Super Bowl – we gave him a parade.

When children complete their duties around the house – parents give them praise.

And, when a student makes good grades in school – he or she is rewarded with honors.

But sometimes efforts to be number one in people’s minds can be a hard pill to swallow.
No one else may understand that line right now than 19-year-old Caleb Lacey, a Long Island volunteer firefighter, who has been accused of setting a fire that killed a mother and three of her children in Long Island.

The painful note here is Lacey, according to reports, set the fire to be seen as a hero in saving the blaze.

An even sadder note here is Lacey, who is Black, knew the victims that died in the fire he allegedly started in a borough that’s had its fair share of racial disruptions.

According to a New York Post article crafted by Taylor Vecsey, Lacey, of Lawrence, lived around the corner from the house he allegedly set ablaze on Feb. 19, but was at the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Volunteer Fire Department a half-mile away - before the alarm sounded for the 5:39 a.m. fire, police said.

During the horrific fire, Marena Vanegas, 46, her son Saul Presa, 20, and daughters Andrea Vanegas, 13, and Susanna Vanegas, 9, were trapped by flames that consumed the building's stairway. Her husband, two sons and several neighbors escaped.

According to the report, he was remanded without bail after the arraignment in Nassau County First District Court.

On Saturday Lacey pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges.
The arson experts describe this type of fire as a vanity, or hero type of fire, according to Det. Lt. John Azzata.  

"The person setting the fire wants to be a hero in saving lives or putting out the fire,” he said. “In this particular case four innocent lives were lost.”

With that said, in these contemporary times of economic uncertainty and gloom, many New Yorkers have been forced to search for ways to become fresh and relevant - not just to their employers, but society in general.

We all love being applauded and feeling appreciated.

Who knows what kind of congratulations Lacey would have received if he saved the fire?

Given a small-town parade?

Received a job promotion?

Or highlighted with a front-page story in the local paper?

As court proceedings continue this week we all will learn more of the details in this horrific and sad case.
But until then, we must learn taking the low road is perhaps the best and safest path to glory and happiness.

By doing this, sooner or later we’ll eventually get that pat on the back.