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Sunday, September 16, 2018

Friday Good Samaritan

As we were leaving Quiznos in Huntsville on Friday but still in the parking lot, I saw a woman sort of running beside our car, smiling and saying something. At first, I didn't know she wanted to talk to me, but I told Tommy to stop. She came the window and asked if we would take her husband to the gas station to get gas for their car. The gas station was only two blocks away, but I said we would.

Her husband came to the car so sweaty and thanks us profusely. It turned out that he had been to get gas three times already. He only had a gallon can and had taken the five-gallon one out of the car the day before.

We took him to the station and he got an orange Slurpy, filled the tiny can and we were off. His car was sitting on a slope and he thought there was not enough gas getting to the whatever.

We told them we would wait and see if the gas worked. It did not help at all. The car tried to turn over but would not. She asked if we would take them home. We agreed. They were on the road we needed to follow to get to the interstate and home.

Sure enough, when we got there, a five gallon gas can along with others, were sitting in their yard. They apologized for maybe ruining our sandwiches. We were sitting in the church parking lot that was next to their house, so we ate our sandwiches there under a tree.

We saw a temperature sign that read 98 F. This was in Huntsville, AL.

As soon as we left with them in the car, I apologized and said I had to eat. I ate half a sandwich. When Tommy started to eat, I stopped him, telling him I was eating his sandwich. He would not like mine because it had black olives and Ranch Dressing.

I gave him the other half of his sandwich since I had eaten the other half. I started on my sandwich. Remember, I have two halves, too, and have eaten half of his. I could not finish the first of my two halves. I remarked I was full and rewrapped about 3/4 of my sandwich.

Tommy NEVER realized how much of his sandwich I ate. And, I did not volunteer the information! Later that afternoon, after we paid for the car, got insurance, and paid for tag transfer and tax on car and he went home, I ate the rest of my sandwich. He still has not figured out I ate half of his sandwich. Shhhh!

I suppose it could be dangerous to give rides to strangers. But, I would have wrecked the vehicle to thwart any bad stuff. We were in congestion, so surrounded by cars and people. Besides, somehow I trusted the woman. And, I am very wary of strangers who want a ride. This is the first person in 30 years that I have given a ride.

Also, I told them how anyone who got food stamps could get wifi for $10/month with no other charges. They beyond thrilled. As we neared their house, the husband said we gave him a ride, took them home, and gave us great information to help them.  They thanked us over and over and apologized for disrupting our lunch. To us it was not a great thing to do.

So, I suppose we lived to be stupid another day.

Do you like Quizno sandwiches? Have you ever helped strangers by giving them a ride?

8 comments:

  1. Yes, I have helped strangers by giving them a ride. The most interesting time was years ago. When arriving back from work on the commuter rail, a couple of college-age young men, (Irish, I think) visiting this country, approached me, asking when the next train back to Boston would be. They were trying to get back to their hostel. I said I thought it had passed for the night, but I didn't have a timetable, but my husband, who was waiting for me in our truck, might have one. We didn't, so DH told them to hop in the back of our pickup, and we'd head to our apartment, and check. If it had turned out they'd missed the last train, he'd drive them to then next nearest stop. They were not at all imposing--if anything I thought they were terrified driving through the suburbs in the back of our pickup through the freezing New England November winds. Turns out they missed the last train, so after warming them up with coffee, DH drove them, (this time in the cab of the truck) to the bus station where they could get catch a bus back to the city. He offered to drive them further in, to the nearest subway station, but they wouldn't hear of it.

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    1. I can imagine they would be very uncomfortable in the back of the pickup in that kind of weather. After that, I can imagine they seemed like a safe best to not be out to harm anyone. I am quite sure they remember your kindness and tell about the frigid ride in the bed of the pickup.

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  2. Sometimes, trust just kicks in. I too am wary, but the thought of leaving someone stranded when I've been helped is difficult. that being said, I've made calls and waited, with someone but don't recall giving a stranger a ride.

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    Replies
    1. Sam,
      Many times, I have helped people, but this is the first time I have allowed two people in the back seat or anyone in the front. Getting help is the usual thing I do. The simplest help is so appreciated.

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  3. Two of my sisters and I were taking the train home from sister #4's home. My husband picked us up at the train station. A young lady approached me asking where she could get a taxi. She was told she could get a taxi at the train station. There were no taxis. I asked where she was headed. She had a light accent. She was going to Sea-Tac airport. It wasn't that far away, so I said we would take her. She was from Ore. heading home for a vacation. To Russia. Oh my. She was getting a post graduate degree here in the states. We dropped her at AeroFlot gate, the Russian airline. Wished her safe travels. During the 15 minutes on the drive we all had a interesting conversation.

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    1. tana50,
      That turned out to be a safe decision for you and the young woman. I can only imagine the conversation was interesting and enlightening. I love meeting people from overseas and sharing ideas.

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  4. We've also helped strangers out from time to time. Sometimes I worry about it later that I was crazy, but the good Lord took care of me.

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    1. Belinda,
      Do you ever wonder why the good Lord does not protect little children from abduction, rape, and murder. We, as adults, sometimes make the wrong decisions, but mostly we make good decisions as who to trust.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.