I Got Paid Back Today...

[cheeseface]

A few years ago I was driving two friends home late on a Sunday night. On the opposite side of the road we saw a car with a flat tire and a few passengers. We were going to stop, but another car in the oncoming lane slowed down to a stop as we passed. On my way back I saw the same car but it didn't look like the tire had been changed. A little confused, I stopped to see if everything was okay. There were four young women and when I asked, one of them told me that the car that stopped was a bunch of young punks who laughed at them and sped off. To my surprise, there was another car that did to them.

To top that off, one of them had a cell phone, but nobody they knew would come to help. All their family and boyfriends had the lamest excuses. One that stuck in my mind was the excuse of getting up at 7:00 AM or something. "Big deal," I laughed. "I have to get up at 5:30 AM." I helped them and taught them a bit about tightening the nuts, etc. etc.

Anyway, tonight I was coming home from a softball game just outside the city when my car decided to quit while turning onto the short stretch of highway to a main strip. I was able to coast onto the shoulder though. I tried looking under the hood to see if it was anything strangely obvious, like a loose spark plug cable and it was already pretty dark when I was doing that. I tried some other things, and even tried pushing the car and engaging the clutch while moving. (just in case it was the clutch; had happened to an older car I had and was a temporary remedy.)

By the time I was finished fooling around and about to put the hood back down and begin walking, a car slowed down and pulled over ahead of me on the shoulder. When the person got out I could see she was female and I waved hello as friendly as I could in the dark contrast of the brake and hazard lights. She asked if I had a cell phone to call and she invited me over to their car to let me use theirs. Then I saw that the only other two passengers were women.

In this day and age, equal rights have not yet reached roadside slayings and other crimes, so I thought it was extra brave and nice of them to stop and help. It felt like a deed returned. It's also a good reminder for me to stay prepared in case I have an opportunity to help someone else on the roadside.

 

[wellingtoncats]

Oh! That's a nice story, It was lovely of you to help those people when they needed help and it was extremely nice of those ladies to stop and let you use their phone!

Thanks for sharing it made me feel all gooey inside!

 

[superkitty]

What a nice story, indeed. Reaffirms your belief in human kindness, especially these days when you wonder if it still exists. So glad you're ok too.

 

[wellingtoncats]

I must also mention so glad you are here all safe & sound!

My Bad!

 

[cheeseface]

Originally posted by WellingtonCats
Oh! That's a nice story, It was lovely of you to help those people when they needed help and it was extremely nice of those ladies to stop and let you use their phone!

Thanks for sharing it made me feel all gooey inside!

I'm glad you both enjoyed it, and I'm happy to survive it safe and sound too. Sometimes these things can turn for the worst when you least expect it.

 

[jenng]

I would have to agree with you - I would consider those women quite brave as well. It's all too often we hear about motorists who have "broken down" in their vehicles only to hurt the person who stops to help them, and it's not as if newspapers report the nice civilian who took time out of their day to help someone else. I'm glad they weren't axe-murderers in disguise.

[Warning - this is quite long-winded.

]
I had a somewhat similiar situation happen to me last winter. I was taking my boyfriend at the time back to the Newark airport. It's about 2.5 hours from my house. Well, on the way back home, the blizzard started.

I should say here that two weeks previous to this, my car died at a nearby gas station. My mechanic told me it was not my alternator, as he tested that, but my battery was dead. So that was replaced.

So anyway, I'm heading home from Newark, driving in this snowstorm that left 18 inches on the ground... and my alternator dies. Luckily (?) I have my sister's cell phone to call AAA with. AAA can't find me, they think I'm in some other town even though I can give them the road and approx. mile marker (within 3 miles). You know... without an alternator, you have no heat.

and these AAA people have the police from the wrong town looking for me, while I sit in my car for 2.5 hours, only getting out now and then to brush the snow off my car as it's piling up quickly, so someone could find me.

Well, eventually I started walking... I planned to find the exact mile marker, even though I had the 18 inches of snow to walk through, and the mile markers were mostly covered. I had a friend on the cell phone with me keeping me company when a pickup truck stopped.

I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to stay there and freeze to death as I knew AAA would never find me at that point, but I also didn't want to get into a stranger's (and possibly murderer's) pickup truck either.

But they waited, so I slowly walked up to the truck, keeping my distance, and inside was a very nice couple. They offered me a ride home, and although I was learly, at that point I just wanted to be home.

They waited while I got my stuff out of my car, and I assumed they would drop me off at a convenient mart or something at the next exit. Instead these kind people took my coat from me and wrapped me in blankets. Their own truck was having issues, so they had very little if any heat coming out. They also offered me bagels and water, but being stuck for so long already, without a potty, I passed on that.

So where did this nice couple drop me off? They drove me right to my front door. It took them an extra 2 hours of their time to get me home, but they did. And although I was slightly on their way, they certainly veered off their path a long way, especially in that weather.

I was so grateful they took me home, they really were the nicest couple. I haven't heard from them since, but I did send them a bagel basket to thank them.

 

[cheeseface]

That's a nice story too. I can also imagine the urgency you would have felt, as we have really cold winters in Canada. I wished I could have returned the favour to those women. It wouldn't have been right to ask for their names and numbers though. I guess I could have offered them mine, but they were just glad to help and were off. I'll just make sure to pay it forward again.

 

[jenng]

I can understand not asking for their names/numbers in your case.

My situation was a bit different. The couple actually thought I was a teenager at first, which is one reason they said they stopped to help. They couldn't figure out what a "little girl" was doing out by herself on the side of a highway in a snowstorm. Luckily my short stature paid off that day.

And they willingly gave me their names... and their business card. Which is how I got their address to send the basket to.

I figure, one day, when I have my own cellphone, I'll stop to help people that are broken down. Until then, I'm rather useless... no phone to use and no car-fixing skills either. I must admit, I'm still a bit leary of bringing strangers into my car.

 

[rhbarb]

You never leave home without your cellphone charged and ready. If your car breaks down you roll up the windows, lock everything you can and call AAA roadside service and pray no one comes up and smashes your window and takes your purse or YOU. Those of you who live in a small town with NORMAL people are very lucky. Wish I was one of you.

That was so nice of you to stop and help and then be paid back in return. What goes around, comes around doesn't it. I am one who would LIKE to stop and help people out, but here, you don't DARE.

 

[cheeseface]

Jgaruba, it sounds like you met some genuinely nice people. That's a rare treat. I can certainly empathize with you or anyone else being wary of stopping for someone else though. There are some parts of my own city that I wouldn't want to have any kind of car trouble in.

RHbarb, I agree about the cell phone. I used to have roadside coverage from my bank, but I don't anymore.

 

[lucia]

and from time to time, would take a spill. On one occasion, some jerk getting out of his car on an early Sunday morning didn't look in the mirror and managed to 'clothes-line' me with his car door.
He couldnt have timed it better: I actually had a deep scratch on the front of the bike's seat tube, which is pretty hard to do. I went flying over the handle bars and the car door and wound up abt 10 feet forward in the street. Two Latino men were standing outside of a nearby building chatting, and one of them ran into the street and picked me and my bike up. The a-hole who hit me, an older man, just said something to me abt how it was 'very dangerous to bike ride in the city'. He then changed his mind abt wherever he was going, and got back into his car and drove away. Meanwhile, one of the men who helped me, took me into a nearby building and into his apartment. It turned out that he was the super for the building and a former medic in the Army...he cleaned off my scrapes and gave me ice for my head. While I was there, he got a phone call from his friend, who had trotted down the block and got the scofflaws license plate number for me.He really wanted to take me to the hospital, but I was close to home, so I refused to do so. My brother was with the NYPD at the time, so we got the driver's identity. Regretfully, he was in NJ, since if he was in NYC, we could have had him arrested for leaving the scene of an accident.
It took me a good 3 months before I got back on the bike again. I experienced a minor concussion.

Another time, I got into a brief altercation with a cab, which was basically my own error. He at least did stop, and 2 passerbys who came over to help me, gave the driver $$ to drive me home. (No concussion that time, but I knocked out a front tooth lol.)

My favorite interlude though came when I was riding along the East River on an access road to a nearby highway. (I wasnt planning to go onto the highway lol:the road eventually connected to a bike path. .) I developed heat prostration, and loss my balance and gently tipped over. I was okay from that, but the sun was doing me in. The next thing that I know, 2 derelicts (bonafide NYC winos) who had been sitting by the edge of the water, rushed over to help me. One of them even offered me a swig of their Wild Irish Rose, quite a gesture on their behalf. I declined, explaining that I was only a few blocks from home.I'm still impressed with the generousity of their spirit in their own strange way.

 

[annabelle33]

OMG people around here are soo nice. The first time I sorta wrecked I was like 17 with my two male friends. All we did was hydroplane off of an exit ramp in the rain, and it was perfectly possible for us to push it out.. Well, within 5 min there were 4 different guys that stopped to help out my guys, getting completely covered in mud in the process..

Second time I was prob 19, driving to my bf's house in the snow.. I slid into a ditch that I could not work my way out of, so I called AAA. Well, these two guys lived across the street from where I wrecked, and they came over to help. They couldn't get my car out, but then another car with 2 other guys stopped and all 4 of them got it out

So of course I had to repay. So on my road one day there was a woman stuck in this small ditch. She was like 200 yrs old. I was late for a final my senior yr in college, but said what the hell.. So I tried pushing her out, but couldn't.. Then not 5min later a guy stopped to help and we got her out, then I aced the final

 

[ttmom]

We don't ever stop here in SD, too many stories (even of the CHP attacking you).

I don't have a cell phone anymore, though, so I have to sit tight and wait for a cop to come.

 

[nora]

I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is kind of rural. I've never had to change a flat tire. Always someone has stopped and changed it for me.

But the best story was when I was trying to get out of a parking lot in a blizzard and the parking lot was on a hill. I slid into a snow bank. It just so happened that this was in front of a very, how to you say, a very low class bar where you go to drink and I mean drink. Well the door of bar opened and out came 10-12 guys yelling all the way to my car. They actually picked my car up and put my on the road. Then they high fived each other and ran back into the bar before I could thank anyone. lol

 

[kittyfoot]

Here's a slightly different tale. I'm a professional Trucker and have been for 30+ years. Our Carriers always warn us NOT to stop for "stranded motorists", especially in the USA. That's because of the increased truck hijacking. My present Carrier lists that as cause for dismissal if it's seen by our "Friendly" Security Fuzz.

Anyhow, one of my buds was driving down the interstate in Illinois. Not near Chi or anything. He sees a car on the side of the road with the hood up. The driver is a little old lady, it's broad daylight, safe to be a good samaratan right?? HA!!! Little old lady sticks a gun in his face, two punks run from bushes and drive off with his truck. Little old lady closes hood, gets back in car...takes a shot at him and speeds off. He was on the roadside for 2 hrs before he flagged down the 3rd cop car that went speeding by. He never saw his truck again and nobody was caught. He told me the cop gave him hell for being on foot on an interstate and only grudgingly took a report on the hijack.

BTW, he DID get fired for losing the company's trailer and almost got charged with being a part of the hijack by the insurance co.

 

[auburn412]

geez, wayne, the really stinks for that poor guy.

i am impressed with some of the stories here. people are basically good aren't they. it's too bad there are a few bad apples out there spoling it for the rest.

i broke down about 6 years ago on the interstate. so i jumped out of my truck, put the hood up and waited. and waited. and waited some more as three state troopers drove right on by. i finally decided i was going to have to go for help and crossed the interstate and started walking back to the nearest exit.

on my walk three guys in a car full of junk came along and offered me a ride and some beer. they drove very slowly next to me for about a half a mile. i was scared out of my mind. luckily a lady came by and asked to give me a ride and i decided at that point she was the lesser of two evils. she dropped me off at the local service station and waited while i made a call and arranged for my truck to be towed.

the next time the state troopers called for a donation, they got an earful.

 

[ttmom]

Yes, the last time I broke down I had 5 cop cars pass me and 1 CHP rescue vehicle (especially setup to help stranded motorists). The cop that finally stopped said he had passed me three times, the first time he saw me and was going to turn around and stop and then he had to give a ticket and the chase caused him to pass me the second time, then he passed me a third time to get back turned around. I only saw him once so I can only imagine how many cops I missed seeing. I was pissed, hot, sunburned, and thirsty by the time I got out of there and when I got to work my boss bitched me out. Well.....my boss got an earful that day and he's been polite to me ever since.

 

[cheeseface]

-lots of interesting stories here as well as some scary ones that could have turned out worse. Areas with larger populations seem to have a disporportionate share of carelessness among motorists. I'm going to add even more things to my roadside survival kit. After getting my car towed, (after it quit last night) the mechanic found that the fuel pump quit. Geez... there's so many wild cards in car mechanics that you can't prepare for everything. That's why there are cell phones and auto service clubs. Damnit, can't they make indestructible vehicles instead?

 

[hissy]

We are still waiting to pay this forward: (sorry this is long)

Searching for hay dealers in Oregon last year was simplified dramatically thanks to the Internet. I mentioned my frustration of being unable to locate local hay to a gal I knew on a horse board. She informed me that her neighbor had just cut his field of oat hay and she was laying up bales for the winter. Did I want any? I asked her to reserve 3 tons and told her I would drive over the pass to come and pick it up. She lived 6 hours away over the Cascade Mountains. Mike and I made plans to leave that Saturday. Our Suburban would be towing our flatbed trailer, and as always our German Shepherd Kenai would come along for the ride. We decided to leave before the sun woke up to get a jump on the day, for we would have to make two complete trips in order to get all the hay we needed for winter.

We found Kathiâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s place without a problem, and drove up her long, steep driveway to say hello to her mom and then turned around and drove down another private road to her barn to load hay. We spent a good hour together bucking hay onto the trailer, and after snugging down the load tightly with rope, we hugged Kathi and told her now nice it was to *meet* her and promised to visit her again when we had more time. Then we took off for the long drive home, got home, unloaded the hay and turned around and drove back.

As we were going up the main road that led to her place, our truck suddenly died. There was no warning sputter or chugging, just suddenly we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any power. Mike managed to coast over to the side of the road, ironically coming to rest under a rusted out Triple A Towing sign. The only building in sight was clearly vacated and there was no one else on the road. Mike began tinkering under the hood and after several minutes the engine started and we were again on our way.

We got to the private drive and backed in near the hay pile jumped out to start loading when Kathi appeared in her beat-up pick-up truck. Another willing hand to help us load bales! Mike had decided to keep the truck running just in case, and the three of us hustled the bales off the pile and onto the trailer. Another farewell hug all around and off we went waving goodbye.

The main road near Kathiâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s place is dotted with farms and ranches. The houses are not clustered together and the land is green and fertile and stretches for miles. Horses graze in the distance and large irrigation systems spray water over the lush fields. As we were commenting on the fact that the landscape almost did not look real, the truck stalled again.

By now it was 6:30 p.m. We had been on the road since 3:00 a.m. We were hot and sweaty and grubby. Our necks and arms itched from contact with the hay bales and we were stalled in the middle of the road right on a blind curve. I looked hopefully all around for a house that was close enough, but the only places we could see were way in the distance. Grumbling under his breath, Mike jumped out and popped open the hood.

It was so peaceful there. I could hear the frogs and crickets as they welcomed the close of the day. Horses were neighing and cows were lowing indicating it was feeding time. If only we werenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stuck in the middle of the road, I could have actually enjoyed the moment. Then over the songs of the night there came the sounds of laughter and music. Coming around the bend in a pick-up truck was a group of teenagers our for a night of partying. They spotted us and slowed down and then stopped right across from us. Apprehensively I watched as two boys got out and swaggered over. I wondered what was going to happen next. Turns out, they stopped to help us push the truck off to the side of the road, and soon 5 heads were bent over the hood of the truck while discussions were thrown back and forth about what could possibly be wrong. One teenager mentioned his friend in town was an auto mechanic and he would be happy to go fetch him for us. Just as he was getting ready to jump in the pick-up truck and take off, a horn beeped and his friend drove up! Now there were 6 heads peeking into the engine well.

They narrowed the field down to an electrical problem. Now all we had to do was go get the part. We were about 15 miles from town and it was getting quite late. The mechanic said his shop stayed open till 9:00 and he would drive Mike in to town and get the part, and then he would join his friends later on. Mike was putting away some of his tools when a white van came around the curve, saw us and stopped. The man who got out came over and introduced himself as Lonnie. He was a GMC parts distributor! He and Mike huddled over the engine to see if what had been discussed was actually the problem. The teenagers were all thanked profusely, and we presented each one of them with a pocket knife (Mike is a knife maker). Lonnie had the part we needed in his van- but when they tried to fit it, they found it was too big. He said he lived up the road a bit and would go home and call his GMC mechanic friends and come back with them. I gave him Kathiâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s phone number and asked him if he would call her as well and let her know we were broke down. He said he would.

Soon Kathi had joined us and upon hearing our tale of tribulation offered to tow us to Lonnieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house. We could park the truck overnight, and come back and spend the night with her and tackle the problem in the morning. Lonnie and his friends were just now returning and Lonnie took one look at Kathiâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s beater truck and offered his 4WD to tow us instead. Soon we were parked at Lonnieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s farm and we went to spend the night with Kathi. Plans were made for Kathi and Mike to go into town early and secure the correct part. The dog was put in the horse barn, and Mike and I fell into an exhausted slumber.

The smell of coffee woke us and when we stumbled into the kitchen there was a marvelous spread before us. Sausage and biscuits, bacon and eggs, fresh juice, pancakes and ham. To much food for only four people, but we were ravenous and ate till we were stuffed. Kathi and Mike drove off soon afterwards and I settled down to wait, and to try and stop my curious German Shepherd from playing with the goat.

It would be several hours before Kathi would return and she was alone, so I knew the truck was finally running. I was rounding up the dog and some of our gear, when I heard an all to familiar whistle. I looked up to see Mike hoofing it up the driveway. The truck had died again!

Several options were discussed. Kathi offered to take us home, which was a wonderful gesture seeing as she would have to leave her invalid mother alone for several hours to do this. But the dog had never traveled in the back of an open pick-up truck and so one of us would have had to ride back there with her, and that was against the law. Kathi offered to hook up her horse trailer, and put the dog inside and take us home, but that seemed like a lot to bother about. We decided to see if Mike could get the truck running again and after a fashion, he did just that. Then we called a friend of ours from home and asked him to start driving up to where we were and to keep an eye out for us in case we broke down. He agreed, and so we said our last goodbyes, piled in and started off.

Ten miles down the road, the truck stalled again. By this time Mike was so furious he is almost in tears. He had done everything humanely possible to fix the problem and now he was out of ideas. As we sat there staring numbly at each other, a white van pulls up and Lonnie sticks his head out the window and hollers to us. He had just gone to town and saw us in his rear view mirror so he turned around and came to help. Mike asked him if we could at least park the truck at his place again and get it off the road. He was reasonably sure he could get the truck to limp along to Lonnieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s but no further.

Lonnie looked at both of us and offered instead to lend us his van! He said we could park our truck at his place and take his van home with us. It had a trailer hitch, so we could take the hay home with us as well! We were stunned; this man did not know us. There were no strings attached to his offer. We could keep the van as long as we needed until we could come up to get our truck home. The tears we had been holding back freely came. We were so overwhelmed by his offer we did not know what to say.

As we were getting ready to limp the truck to Lonnieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s place, who should come down the road but Kathi! Boy was she surprised to see us again! She followed us to Lonnieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in case we needed to be towed, and once parked the dog was transferred out of the truck to the van. Business cards were exchanged along with phone numbers. We left a set of keys with Lonnie, he said his buddies would come over the next day and fix our truck. We gave Kathi what we hoped would really be the final goodbye hug and started on our way.

When we cleared the town and were heading up the pass, I happened to glance back to the rear of the van in time to see that one of the windows was sliding off itsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] track and it would of crashed in the road! I shouted at Mike to stop and he did by pulling off to the side of the road. As I got out, I noticed that we were not the only car stopping. Kathi was right behind us! She had followed us “just in case†and thought we had broke down! We all laughed and exchanged hugs. I set the window back in place cranking it up all the way. As we drove away, I could hear Kathi shout, “Come back again, when you have more time to visit!†Mike and I looked at each other and just grinned.

Earlier as we had turned off the main road to go up Kathiâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s road, I had noticed a man putting up a Neighborhood Watch sign. But for us, that neighborhood did not only watch, they cared!

On a side note, we kept the van for 5 days and before we returned it, Mike fixed the broken window, took the van down and had it detailed and lubed. I filled underneath the seats with coloring books, crayons, puzzles and other goodies (Lonnie had 7 kids) we filled the ashtray up with coins and put some grown-up gifts in the glove box. Then we took it up there to pick up our fixed truck and drove home.

 

[22angel]

Well, I have a little story too, but mine's a bit different.

It was in 2000, and where I worked was 20 miles from where I live (still is, but a different place). Anyhow, it was about 11:45pm, dark out (obviously lol) in June. So I'm going up this hill and there's a deer on the road. I slowed to down, it went to the other side of the highway, and then turned around and ran back right in front of me! I tell you I have never been so scared in my life! I didn't even move my car off onto the side of the road, when I got out and the only thing I could think of was "I hit Bambi's mother!!!!" Seriously that's how out of it I was.

Anyways, I get out of my car, and I was bawling

lots and this older guy (well, he was my parents age, so he's older to me! lol) stops and comes over. He said he didn't want to scare me when he got out of his truck (yeah like that one was gonna happen! I think I was scared enough as it was! Some guy stopping on the road to help me wasn't gonna scare me anymore than I already was!), and he was talking to me and everything, and then he told me I should move the car off onto the side of the road. I was like yeah (but there was no way I was gonna do it! lol I didn't say that part), so after he figured it out that I wasn't going to do it, he did it for me, then told me he would take me home (it was only 10 miles and he had to pass right by it anyways), if I didn't mind. I was like, man no! I wouldn't mind! lol So I got in and we got talking, and he said he had 2 daughters my age, and he could just imagine what they would be like if either of them had hit a deer late at night. So I felt better about taking a ride with a stranger.

I am forever grateful to him for giving me a ride home. I don't feel comfortable stopping for other ppl yet, but that's b/c my mom has drilled it into my head and my sister's head (b/c we are girls) that if you pick up anyone, something bad might happen to you, so I'm always a little freaked out for doing that. When I lived on the East Coast, the ppl I hung around with were always picking up hitch hikers, and I was like "what do you think you're doing??? You don't pick up hitch hikers!!" But they were guys mostly and they always did it and always will, so eventually I got used to it, but I still don't do it. You never know. I also don't feel comfortable when I don't know anything about cars, and my cell phone rarely ever has enough minutes on it to even check messages, and it only works in certain areas in my area, so I'm not really a big help!

Sometime I will get brave, and help someone!