It was one of those days, a Friday no less. I forgot my keys, spilled coffee on my new pants, had to work late and then forgot my phone at my mom’s apartment. With a half hour break, I decided to run and grab my cell before giving a tour of campus. It was more than enough time to drive there and back.
However, because it was one of those days, my car began to overheat as I was making my way up the steep hills. I pulled over and turned it off as soon as smoke began to waft up from the hood. No sooner than I had jumped out and popped the lid did the car crap coolant everywhere. The sapphire blue liquid licked my toes and I kicked the tire in frustration. At this point, it seemed to be a physically manifested metaphor of my day. No phone, broken down car in the middle of nowhere, places to be in less than an hour, the stars seemed to have truly aligned for me. I let loose a few choice words foul enough to make the birds perched on the phone wires above flap away in disgust.
I should mention that this particular road is in the middle of Nowhere, New York. A busy day would mean that more than three cars amble along the pasture trimmed route. But, lucky for me, almost as soon as I’d finished my theatrical display of verbal atrocities another car happened to come by. I almost didn’t wave it down. What if the driver was a psychopath who kidnapped me and sent my toes to my parents as ransom? If only I had my phone, I could just call someone I actually knew. But, I decided to take my chances and flagged him down.
A man, most likely late thirties pulled up and asked what was the matter. I explained and together, we poked and prodded at my perplexing and problematic cooling system. He was kind and respectful. When it was clear there was nothing he could do, he offered to follow me to my mother’s place to make sure I got there alright. (As it turns out, his wife is close friends with my mom’s landlord.)
In the end, I managed to coast to my mom’s house and got to work on time, but not before I thanked the man profusely. He smiled and gave me the number of a good mechanic and drove away.
By this time, you may be wondering what the moral of the story is, or if I'm going to impart some advice upon you. Not to fret.
With everything happening that has happened in our country in the past month, I wanted to share a story that had a happy ending. One that highlights the decency and kindness in everyday gestures of ordinary people.
There are a lot of systemic and cultural problems that not only need to be acknowledged but addressed. We need to step away from our phones and our social media for a minute. Change like this can only start from the ground up. It starts with trusting and caring for you family, your friends, your neighbors and your community.
Maybe this is just typical millennial claptrap about how we all just need to love each other. But, maybe not.
