If It Were Me...

So I was driving on Jefferson Davis, and there was a car stalled in the middle (of 3) lanes. A guy [henceforth known as #1] was pushing the car from behind, so I figured "okay, they've got it covered", assuming that one guy was pushing [#1] and a friend was steering. As I passed, I saw that no one was steering, meaning this guy [#1] was stranded on his own and trying to get out of the road to not jack up traffic.

I turned into the next parking lot that I could and ran back to help. By the time I'd gotten there, a random passerby [#2] was pushing and #1 was steering. I joined in the pushing effort [making me #3 in the situation] and we got the car out of the main road onto a sidestreet. At this point, another helper [man #4] came from where I'd parked and also offered his services.

Once we'd gone a little further, #1 attempted again to start the car, and it fired up. He thanked us [#2-4] and went on his merry way. After short salutations with my comrades-in-aide, we all parted.

I was struck by how great that short example was to me of the kindness and goodness that exists within people. None of these mid-20s to early-30s guys (guessing based on looks) knew each other before, and we didn't expect any payment or direct recompense for our assistance. Nor do we even expect to see each other ever again. In the moment, these thoughts didn't cross my mind. I just knew that if it were me alone with a struggling car stranded in the road, I would hope that others would jump to my aide.

People are good.