tonight, i was reminded of how kind people can be. while i was driving home from a party with my son in the backseat, i ran out of gas on a main stretch of road. i had been riding on fumes, it turns out, unaware of how close i was pushing the envelope. i only had enough to drive on the side of the road near a turn, a very dangerous place. i turned on my hazards, and debated for a time how i was going to address the situation.
i had run out of gas before in more precarious situations. once (not very far from where i ran out of gas tonight) i pushed my then mazda glc over a couple of hills (kinda like sisyphus, urging the boulder over the hill and then slipping into the driver's seat to control the acceleration on the downslope), all the way to the nearest gas station. but tonight, i couldn't do it. different car, and my son was in the backseat, and there were too many cars zipping by to my immediate right.
i had just decided that my best option was to walk with my son over to the gas station (it was really really close - tantalizingly close in an empty gas car), buy a gas can, fill it up, and walk back to the car. just as i was exiting the car, another car stopped behind mines, with its hazards on. this big guy walked out of the car, and asked if i needed help. i briefly explained my situation.
"get in," he said, "i'll push you. this place is way too dangerous."
i was about to object, but he put his hands on the rear bumper. so i got in, and as he pushed, i steered. soon, we were just pass the turn where i ran out of gas, in a much safer location. i got out and shouted my thanks profusely. i shook his hand. he smiled, got back in, and was off... that was kind stranger #1.
so i walked over with my son to the nearby gas station. i asked to buy a gas can, but the two cashiers said that they didn't have any. i was kind of stumped in disbelief. there was a whole shelf full of automotive stuff, from antifreeze to brake fluid. and this was a GAS station. and they didn't have a gas can!? just to get my hopes up, one of the cashiers recalled that they had an emergency gas can in back, but warned me that they would need collateral, $10 up front. luckily, i had the cash. but unluckily, as it turned out, they couldn't find the gas can. desperate, i saw one of those huge 44 oz plastic mugs with the gas station's logo printed on the front. i also spied a large funnel. i decided to purchase these items in a desperate try to get enough fumes of gas into the tank to carry the car the last few yards over to the gas station, where i could fill in the tank properly.
make a long story short... it didn't work. the funnel, long though its shaft was, wasn't curved properly. while there is a small drainhole to catch gasoline to take it to the tank, i think that most of the gasoline from the cup was spilling out rather than going to the tank. i think i still might have had enough to start the engine, but when i tried, i think i must have flooded it, and caused the engine to sputter...
i was at a loss. i thought about walking further to a foodland, to perhaps see if they had a gas can there. it was just then that another car stopped behind mine.
this guy and a girl were in the car. the girl was in the car. the guy came out (looked like a typical local guy, just like the other dude), and said, "need help?"
before i even explained my situation, he said, "need a gas can?" and as though he had been watching my plight, he went to his backseat, where, voila, there was an old gas can. i accepted it, and told him i would hurry back with it after i was done.
"keep it," he said, his girlfriend laughing in the driver's seat. "i have more."
i was speechless. for the second time tonight, i found myself shouting "thank you" over and over again. the smile on that guy's face was priceless. he drove away, his hand raised high, as if to say, "take care."
so, with the gas can, my son and i were able to fill up the tank to a quarter full, and drive home...
***
let it never be said that people around here only look out for themselves. these people actively sought to help me, a perfect stranger, and they did so quickly and with utter generosity. i will never look at other people the same way. within the faces of strangers, there is the possibility of such kindness and generosity and love, that it would astound you. don't look far away for your heroes. if the situation were right, your heroes could be your next door neighbors, the people that pass you by on the street...
... and, i hope, if there ever is need, that hero could be me or you.
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