The Kindness of Strangers

Tweet

Things I hate about cars, number 26. Cars like to have issues at the most inopportune times. Like when the store is JUST far enough away that you can't really walk there and back, and you're rushing out to buy a much needed phone card. This particular time, the car battery decided to drain, hence rendering our central locking system completely freaking useless! Things I hate about Cars number 32. After been given a jump start with the jump cables, we go on our merry way, only to have the battery die on us at the busiest intersection in our area. This happened to us tonight as we headed out. My partner forgot to turn his lights off when he arrived home from work, and so our car battery drained. When we discovered that, we sat like prats in the parking lot and hoped that someone on their way out would give us a jump. Five minutes later, we were on our way after a guy who lives in a ground floor apartment saw us with our jump cables and came to us with his truck. We'd never seen him before and he was so friendly and helpful. As we reached the intersection, the car engine cut out again and we got stuck at the lights. Cars behind us started with their horns, out came the cables again, and up went my blood pressure. Within 5 minutes three people had tried to help. One guy attempted to back up at the intersection till an idiot of a driver decided to drive past us and join the lane in front, effectively cutting off the other driver. A lady tried to change lanes in order to give us a jump, not easy because the lights were on red and the traffic wasn't moving, and finally, seconds after that, a guy in a truck driving in the opposite directions stopped and gave us another jump. We made it to the store where I was left in the car with the engine running to make sure it was running okay, and then we headed out for dinner. Thankfully, the car has been fine since then. The point I want to make here is the kindness of people we've never seen before and probably never will again. In an increasingly "ignore others problems" kind of world, it gave me hope that there are still some people out there who think enough of others to stop and give a hand. Have you ever had a total stranger help you out in some way? What happened and how did they help? How did it make you feel knowing that others do care? P.S. Things I hate about my partner number 2. He forgets to turn his car headlights off upon arriving home from work :P