Monday, December 8, 2008

Good Samaritan from Kentucky

"Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind."
- Buddha


We had just left St. John's arena in Columbus, Ohio, where our son had a scrimmage in volleyball.

The snow was coming down steadily and the roads were icy. Something didn't feel right, there came much noise and resistance from around the front right tire of the van. My husband pulled around the corner away from the busy road. We checked and sure enough, we had a flat tire on the right front wheel.
Paul used his cell phone to call information for some help. Call a towtruck? He was not able to take off the injured tire and put on the spare. He talked to some helpline after waiting for 5 minutes. There must have been a lot of requests like ours because of the weather. He finally got hold of our daughter who is also a student at Ohio State University and learned that her husband was on the way to help us.
In the meantime, a young man stopped, offering his help. He said that he was waiting for a bus which was supposed to come in about 10 minutes and he wanted to help while waiting.
I showed him where the tools were and he went right to work. I learned that Matt (our good samaritan) was from Kentucky, and in Columbus for continuing education.
He lowered the spare tire, got the car jacked up and was loosening the bolts on the tire when our son-in-law showed up. Together they changed the tire and had everything back in the van in no time flat. Our son-in-law offered Matt a ride since the bus still hadn't come yet.
In the meantime, Paul found a place where we could get the tire fixed before the end of the day.

Talking about changing plans fast. Well, I never made it to the TEAM seminar that night (that's where we were heading from St. John's arena), but we certainly had a rewarding experience that night. We drove into Midas parking lot at about 5:30 PM and got a new tire before closing time at 6:00 PM.
What's the lesson in all this? Don't panic! Paul said, that this incidence restored his belief in people. Wasn't that worth it?

Thanks, Matt and Garrun.




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