We haven’t had any reader stories in a while.  Remember guys, I’ll give you a free book if you send me an inspiring story to print. Here’s a tale to help you remember that there’s still kindness in the world.

Ok…yes, it was my fault. I let my gas tank get too low. Maybe you’ve done the same thing yourself.  Maybe you’ve run out of gas right at a major intersection during the morning traffic scramble getting to work. You pop the hood, jiggle a few wires, and check the battery cable hoping that something will make your car start as you stand alone and helpless while cars go by.

Some people drive by pretending that everything is fine. Stalled car…what stalled car???  Some people are annoyed, even angry, at the inconvenience you’ve caused them by having made them switch lanes to go around you.  Others have a look of compassion mixed with fear; fear that they might have to put their feelings of empathy into actions that would force them out of their numb morning routine.  A few totally snub you.  You aren’t even worth a glance, you belong to a lower class, you don’t drive a luxury car with $600 per month payments.

So there I stand trying to decide what to do.  Should I push my car through the intersection to the lot across the street?  Maybe I should push my car up the incline, against traffic to the lot behind me.  Should I leave the car there and run a quarter mile down the road and call for a tow truck?

Suddenly my hopes are stirred.  A well-dressed gentleman in a new Suburban is saying something to me with his hand extended. What’s this? What could he be handing me in my time of need?  I reach out in anticipation.  Why yes…it’s…it’s…a BUSINESS CARD!  Surely now my troubles are over! This is obviously no ordinary business card….it’s one from a Customer Assistance Manager at the Airport Chevrolet car lot.  I’m at a loss.Maybe I’m just dense, but how will this get my car out of traffic?

“Call me about a new car,” he says with a big, optimistic, dollar-sign smile as he drives away.  I don’t know whether to laugh or hurl an insult his way….I laugh. I feel like the wounded man lying on the road to Jerico as the Levite and Priest walked by.   Here I am stranded in the middle of the road and yet to this Customer Assistant Manager I’m just another potential customer that can help him pay off his Suburban. Yes sir, good PR approach!  That’s the kind of customer service that will really drum up business! I continue trying to figure out what to do, my hope almost depleted, my faith in mankind waning fast.  It seems that help today means profiting from others difficulties.

“Do you need some help?” I look up stunned.  It’s a young man in an older pickup, wearing a maintenance uniform. “Ah….yes….I do,” I say slowly, expecting another business card.  Instead, this stranger turned neighbor, pulls into the nearest lot, runs across the road, helps me push my wagon into the nearest lot, and then even drives me to the nearest gas station. Trevor tells me the same thing happened to him a few weeks before on his way to work at the Manor.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TREVOR!  Thanks for going out of your way and sharing 5 minutes of your life to help me in my minor crisis.  Thanks for being a true neighbor.  And, thank you to everyone else who was at that intersection that same morning for bringing the Parable of the Good Samaritan to life for me!  You all acted out your parts perfectly!  May I never forget who and what a true neighbor is!