The Generosity of Strangers

[Howard Clark]

I was on my way to Atlanta to the Blade Show (biggest knife show in the world) several years ago. I was driving a 1968 Chevy pickup that was a "parts truck". In the northwest corner of the St. Louis metro (Wentzville) it decided to die. After a very short diagnostic procedure I figured out that I had no spark, and that it was the ignition module in the distributor (HEI distrbutor from a later model).

So there I was, several thousand dollars worth of inventory, a broken down pickup truck, 95 degrees and 100% humidity. Hood up, scratching my head, trying to figure out what I was going to do. Just at that moment a man and his wife pulled over, and asked if I needed help. Well yes, as a matter of fact I could use a lift to a parts store, if there is one near by. There was no parts store near, however, they were locals, and knew that there was a salvage yard very near (less than 1/2 mile). So they took me over to the salvage yard, and I bought a complete distributor for $35, and was able to check it to make sure everything worked before leaving the yard.

In the end I was out of commission for less than an hour, and back on the road. My Samaritans would accept no payment, and saved my day.

Good people exist everywhere. The things is to be one of them, and do such things yourself, when the opportunities arise. And they do, pretty regularly.

Great thread, especially in this time of difficulty that we all find ourselves in. Caring about each other is the best thing we can do as humans.

[funlvnman]

Good people exist everywhere. The things is to be one of them, and do such things yourself, when the opportunities arise. And they do, pretty regularly.

Great thread, especially in this time of difficulty that we all find ourselves in. Caring about each other is the best thing we can do as humans.

Sage advice! It's easy to forget we're all in this together.
Thanks for the reminder.

Rich

[davedove]

... My Samaritans would accept no payment, and saved my day.

Good people exist everywhere. The things is to be one of them, and do such things yourself, when the opportunities arise. And they do, pretty regularly.

As they say, instead of paying it back, pay it forward. Help the people you encounter who need assistance.

[Pleater]

My neighbour told me how she and her daughter, when a toddler, on their way back from visiting relatives in Canada, ended up stranded in a Canadian airport, her baggage got on the flight but she didn't, no local currency, no one all that interested in assisting until an elderly lady appeared, a total stranger just passing by, who took them home, fed them gave them a bed for the night and returned them to the airport next day after phoning to be certain that they had seats on a flight, checked the times and giving them breakfast before they set out.

Twenty years later she was still impressed by that lady and remembered her name.

Anne the Pleater