We stopped by the Post Office today on our way to Virginia Beach. As we were leaving, I noticed a lady in the parking lot kicking her truck's tailgate. She looked flustered.
I drove closer to see if she wanted a hand. "Actually, yes" was her answer.
The tailgate was bent out of shape and had completely come off the truck. Together we were able to anchor it securely in less than 10 minutes. While it was an easy task with two people, it would have been pretty rough for her to have to try do on her own.
Have you ever stopped to help a stranger?
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I have had people stop and help me before... I was traveling across the country by myself (before cell phones!) and my car broke down in the middle of nowhere in Montana. Scary when you are by yourself and a woman! A really kind elderly man stopped and helped me. I actually wonder if he was an angel (do you ever wonder if you encounter angels), because some of his answers to my questions of what he does, etc, were really... intriguing. And the fact that he was elderly made him seem safer to me. Whew! So... way to go! Thanks for helping her!
Isn't it weird to remember people used to regularly travel across the country without cell phones or GPS devices?
Angles - Yes. I have wondered.
I have stopped to help a stranger before. A few months ago I was on my way to work in the morning and we had just had a frost. There were two women and a massive black dog on the side of the road and one woman was laying down holding her wrist. So I stopped and asked if they needed help and they definitely did! The woman had fallen while they were walking and she had broken her wrist. I crammed the big dog in my back seat with the other woman (he actually sat in my daughter's carseat!). Then I took the hurt woman to the hospital emergency room and her friend and dog back home to get her purse and information. I'm so glad I got there when I did because her wrist was ballooning! And I was only 5 minutes late for work...good thing I left early that day!
Isn't it so cool we you stop and help someone?
It sometimes is scary at first. As if there is a fear of the offer being rejected, but in the end I am always glad I chose to help.
I admit this is something I am particularly bad at. I have adult-stranger-danger syndrome! LOL - I need to get over it and be more helpful! :)
Being cautious is good! I used to be a police officer. I still think everyone is out to get me, but taking an intelligent risk is often necessary to help people.
We have stopped to help strangers before - it is always a rewarding experience (although a bit nerve racking at times...) the time that comes to mind right now is when we were on our way to go hunting early one morning - the roads were very icy and we came across a truck and trailer that had gone off the road, we were able to stop and help them and I'm glad we did.
I agree that helping strangers is nerve-wracking and a leap of faith. I will never forget when a stranger helped me when I was 16. I had just gotten my driver's license and was dropping my friend off after school when my car slipped on an icy patch and got stuck in a ditch. A lady saw me, got a shovel, and shoveled me out. She was so sweet and didn't make me feel dumb at all. I will never forget her kindness.
We have a long time friend living with us, these being his final days.
Tom and I were on our way to City of Hope for a procedure last Wednesday. I think he was apprehensive, he was feeling nauseous on the drive up. I thought I would try to distract him by telling him about a what happened on my way to pick up his prescription the previous day.
I was sitting at the corner signal waiting for the left arrow to turn green. As I was waiting I watched a lady get off of the bus. She turned and started walking away. Suddenly I saw her stop in her tracks, quickly look in her bag, turn and start yelling at the bus to stop. She even went so far as to try to get the bus drivers attention by pounding her hand on the side of the bus. She. was. panicked. The bus continued on it's way without stopping. She turned and started running towards the market. She was about my age. As I watched this all I kept saying to myself is oh no...oh no. Clearly she was worried about what she left on the bus. My light changed and I went to the nearest turn lane to try to catch her. Success! I pulled up to her in the parking lot and explained that I had seen what happened and how the bus didn't stop for her. I asked her if I could drive her to catch the bus to get her left behind belongings. She didn't even skip a beat as she climbed into the car. I drove past the bus and we waited at the next stop so she could get back on for her bag. We caught that bus about 6 stops down the road, past her stop.
She was very thankful for the ride to the bus. I told her I would take her back to her bus stop, or I could just drive her closer to her home.We exchanged names and Jodie thanked me. She said "I'm happy to see there are still good people in this world". She also told me she shouldn't have been running. She had recently broken her shoulder....running!
I dropped Jodie off at the market and went on my way. I had a prescription to pick up!
I find it so heart warming to be able to recognize when a fellow human being is in need, and by simply taking a small detour to help, how good you can feel.
Way to pay attention and help with Jodie's need. A happy ending to the story too.
How did the procedure go on Wednesday?