@Leaffan (Leaffan) posted a new topic, subject "I went out of my way to help someone today". It read:

   And I feel good about it.
    
    At 6:45 this morning, in total darkness, I was driving to work on a four lane divided highway and noticed a car on the shoulder with its four-ways on. At the last second I saw the (presumably) owner standing beside the car with his thumb out. It was too late to stop safely so I whizzed by and kept going.
    
    Then I thought to myself, no one is going to help that poor guy, so I got off at the next interchange and doubled back to the previous interchange, about a 12 mile journey in all. When I got back to the car he was gone. But then I saw him walking down the shoulder and I pulled over. I ended up giving him a ride home, another 10 miles or so out of my way.
    
    His engine had blown, four days before Christmas. But boy was he thankful I showed up, or else he would have had to hoof it in the dark for 10 miles, most of it on rural back roads with no traffic or chance of help.
    
    He gave me a Toblerone bar! And wished me a Merry Christmas.

So @tdn (tdn) replied

    Good for you!

So @Cat_Whisperer (Cat Whisperer) replied

    Good job, **Leaffan**. I'll keep your story in mind today as I drive around, and try not to whall@example.net.

After which, @Soylent_Juicy (Soylent Juicy) added

    Good job **Leaffan**!
    
    “Leaf fan” - are you from Toronto? Because that's totally expected from us Canadians.

@Leaffan (Leaffan) replied

    Soylent_Juicy:
    
    > Good job **Leaffan**!
    > 
    > “Leaf fan” - are you from Toronto? Because that's totally expected from us Canadians. 
    
    Na. I grew up in Sarnia and am living in rural Ottawa.
    
    You'd think by now I'd have switched allegiances, but I haven't. Looks like we're going to be at year 45 soon…

After which, @Soylent_Juicy (Soylent Juicy) added

    Leaffan:
    
    > Na. I grew up in Sarnia and am living in rural Ottawa.
    > 
    > You'd think by now I'd have switched allegiances, but I haven't. Looks like we're going to be at year 45 soon…
    
    Close enough. Yeah I'm still a lifelong fan, even though the Leafs haven't seen a Stanley Cup in my lifetime.

Then @Rachellelogram (Rachellelogram) said

    Did he not have a cell phone? These days it's so easy to have a roadside assistance number programmed into your phone.

Then @smee_goan (smee goan) said

    glad it worked out.  
    could have been a stolen car.  
    these days you roll the dice.

After which, @not_what_you_d_expect (not what you'd expect) added

    Good for you. I'm glad you're safe and he was helped. I wish I could feel comfortable helping in that sort of a situation, but I'm a small female, so I don't dare take a chance.

Then @Leaffan (Leaffan) said

    rachelellogram:
    
    > Did he not have a cell phone? These days it's so easy to have a roadside assistance number programmed into your phone.
    
    Nope. No cell phone, and I don't have one either.

To which @miss_elizabeth (miss elizabeth) replied

    smee_goan:
    
    > glad it worked out.  
    >  could have been a stolen car.  
    >  these days you roll the dice.
    
    Crime is down overall. I think it's pretty paranoid to assume the guy is a crook. It's an awful lot of trouble to go to to con someone, don't you think? And for what? The vast majority of people on the road at that time aren't carrying a ton of cash or anything. I guess, in a way, he rolled the die, but it's like a 1 million sided die, and only one side says “criminal”.

Then @Mean_Mr.Mustard (Mean Mr. Mustard) said

    Good job, **Leaffan**.  
    mmm

So @papergirl (papergirl) replied

    That story makes me happy.  Good for you!  
    Last year just before Christmas, I was on a four-lane and stopped for a light. A pickup pulled up on my passenger side and the driver motioned to me to roll my window down. I did, and he held his hand out and said, “Can you take this?”. I could tell he was holding money in his hand but it was so unexpected and odd that I just automatically said yes and took it–for some reason I thought he wanted me to hand it to the car on my other side. (I know, kind of dumb but it caught me off guard.)  
    So here I was with $40 in my hand and no idea what was up, and he said, “Your back driver tire is wobbling–take that and go get it checked out. Merry Christmas!” I was still gaping when he drove away. I had a little cry and spent the rest of the season trying to do nice things for strangers.  
    Your story is a nice reminder to help out where we can. Thank you.

@Sunspace (Sunspace) replied

    Soylent_Juicy:
    
    > Good job **Leaffan**!
    
    Definitely.
    
    Soylent_Juicy:
    
    > “Leaf fan” - are you from Toronto? Because that's totally expected from us Canadians. 
    
    I wasn't sure for a moment. The use of miles instead of kilometres threw me, but then I figured he was translating for Americans. 
    
    (If I was a sports person, I'd be a Leafs fan as well. But in the generations since they won the Cup, new culture has grown up. It'll be interesting when they win again. Bremner Blvd will be hopping!

To which @Leaffan (Leaffan) replied

    Thanks for the comments. There's probably a perception of me “sneak bragging” here, and I get that.
    
    I think my main reason for posting this though was to spread the news that it's OK to help other people, even strangers. This guy had no gloves or hat and was really, really happy I helped him out of a precarious situation.
    
    Think of that this Christmas season and remember the immortal words of Bill and Ted: “Be excellent to each other.”
    
    Merry Christmas.

@Sudden_Kestrel (Sudden Kestrel) replied

    I hope that if my cellphone-less self is stranded on the side of the road, someone like your cellphone-less self happens by. That was quite decent of you, **Leaffan**.
    
    Anybody else want to make the Toblerone an official expression of gratitude for kind strangers?

To which @YogSothoth (YogSothoth) replied

    You're not Leaffan! You're the hitchhiker wearing his skin! :eek:

So @Lacunae_Matata (Lacunae Matata) replied

    Years ago, I was on my way back to my college apartment the day after Thanksgiving - I had to work that night. On a really rural stretch of road, something under the hood of my car made a huge KA-CHUNK, so I pulled to the shoulder and raised the hood… I thought it was a broken belt, but couldn't find the defect. I was afraid to keep driving, since I didn't want to ruin my motor, but it was at least ten miles to the next town, and I knew that the nearest house was about half that distance, and possibly didn't even have a phone…
    
    While I was deciding what to do, a car passed, and then turned around and came back: a woman in her early 20s offered me a lift. Turns out that (a) she had once been stuck in the same predicament in almost the same spot, (b) the person who offered her a ride was a creepy guy, so she had vowed to stop and help any girl/woman she saw stranded, and © her younger sister and I had graduated high school together just a few months earlier. Julie's kindness has stuck with me since 1987, and I still try to pay it forward.
    
    So good for you, Leaffan: maybe your generosity will serve as an example too!
    
    (That said, I typically don't offer people rides, now that I usually have my kids in the car with me. But I offer to go fill up a gas can, or help/change a tire, call a wrecker, etc.)

@MagicEyes (MagicEyes) replied

    rachelellogram:
    
    > Did he not have a cell phone? These days it's so easy to have a roadside assistance number programmed into your phone.
    
    If he did have a cell phone, don't you think he would have used it? Do you think he just sat there in his broken-down car and thought, “Should I use my cell phone to call the roadside assistance number I have so conveniently programmed into it? Nah, I think I'd rather walk.”
    
    :rolleyes:

@Cat_Whisperer (Cat Whisperer) replied

    Hey, I have my own addition to the thread now! I found a purse in a shopping cart in the parking lot at Walmart today; after looking around and making sure that there wasn't someone coming back for it, I took it in to the lost-and-found. As I was waiting in line, the little old lady who had lost the purse came in and took it back and thanked me.

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