Thursday 24 October 2013

Adventures and kindness

Do you believe in human kindness?
I do. Especially after yesterday! Here is a little story I would like to share with you that demonstrates how kind people can be.

But let's start at the beginning.
Yesterday was the day for Stef's and mine annual shopping trip. This tradition started three years ago when I wasn't quite sure what to buy for her 19th birthday, and invited her to go shopping with me instead. We had so much fun that it became an annual thing.

It was a gorgeous day - fall is a real show-off these days, and after a few days of dense fog the sun shone brilliantly. We always go over to the States, because of their great deals, it feeling more like an adventure (you get to cross a border!), and because of Ross. We love Ross.

We had lunch, shopped for a few hours, and then started heading back towards home.

That's where the trouble started. I was cruising along at a comfortable 60 mph or so when my car suddenly started to slow down. My foot was still on the gas, but the car got slower and slower. So I pulled over and turned it off. When I tried to start it, it didn't work.
Now I don't know about you ladies, but I know NOTHING about cars. Zero. I can fill it up with gas, wiper fluid and oil, and that's it.
Not good. I tried again, and again nothing. At that point (maybe a minute in?) I noticed 3 people waving at us from across the road. Which is a busy state highway. One of them yelled over: "Do you need help?", with me responding: "I don't know, I think so!".
So one of the guys started making his way over to us, which involved having to cross one side of the highway, hopping a fence in the center and then crossing the other side of the highway. I couldn't believe it!

We explained what the problem was, and he tried to get the car running again, but it didn't work. It's an old clunker with tons of miles on it (over 200,000) and a motor we had put in a few months ago that we got for $500 from a junk yard. 'Nuff said.

While our friendly helper was still poking around I called my hubby (aka "the hero") who is great in emergencies. There is no-one I'd rather be in a tricky spot with than him. He stays cool, calm and collected, and usually figures out a solution rather quickly. Once again, he didn't disappoint. He organized his friend Wayne (who has a flatbed trailer) and promised us to be there in an hour.

In the meantime, our helper's buddy and a third person, a very nice girl named Sarah, had come over to lend moral support. They helped us push the car to a safer spot, and after making sure that the rescue team was on its way, departed. But not without offering us to come to their house if we want to! So sweet. I was really touched.
Stef and I spent a very pleasant hour and a half (Rich is never on time) chatting, munching on some bread, and enjoying the view.

The rest was easy: The heroes arrived, we pushed my car up on to the trailer (with the help of the helper's buddy, who crossed the highway one more time just to give us a hand - I love WA people!), and drove back home.

The moral of this story? Our little mishap actually made the day better. What could have been a negative experience was such a positive one!
Granted, we did have the best case scenario: Beautiful weather, a great view, not far from home, the best company, and daylight. It may have felt a bit different in the depth of winter, when you are freezing, it's raining and dark and scary.

But as it was it was a beautiful life-affirming experience. Thank you SO much nice WA people who selflessly helped us, thank you Wayne for dropping everything to come to our rescue, and of course, I can't even imagine living a life with no Rich in it. I can't.

And my partner in crime took it in her stride with no freak-out, even though she had to go to work later that night! Which she managed to get to just under the wire.
Success!

With a heart overflowing with gratitude,
Miriam
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5 comments

  1. That is such a great story. I am glad that something that could have a terrible experience was turned into something wonderful for you.

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  2. That is a wonderful story and you and your daughter are adorable together!

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  3. That is so great that there are still people out there willing to help a stranger. It seems like there are less and less of those folks out there these days.

    I found you from The Collective hop and have really enjoyed your blog so far - I'm your newest follower! Please check me out if you'd like. http://www.backhomeagainblog.com

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    Replies
    1. Will do! Thanks for coming over! I love that blog hop. Heading to your blog now...

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