Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Back in 1999, I bought a cheap beaten up car for $200 so that I could drive up to Alberta Canada to attend Art School. The car  was in pretty bad shape.  The gas gage was broken, it didn't have a tape player, and for some reason it wouldn't drive over 50 miles per hour.

On my way to Art School, I stopped at a gas station somewhere on the Alaskan Highway to buy some gas.  When I stopped there I found out that my car needed a small repair - the back passenger wheel was rubbing on the car and they had to weld part of it off so that I didn't wear my tire down or blow it.  I had spent the last of my cash on getting my car fixed.  So when, 2 miles outside of Fort St. John, I ran out of gas - my only thought was... “Oh Lord and Lady, how am I going to get out of this one?” 

I had no money, no gas and I had 3 cats travelling with me. I was sitting in a sort of ditch near my car with my cats on a leash watching the cars go by.  One of the cars, a motor home, pulled up and stopped near my car. A gentleman came up to me to ask if I was alright. I said I was alright but that I was scared and I told him my story. He handed me a $20 bill. I said "I can't pay you back." He responded, "you will someday". Then he just left.

Not even 5 minutes later a native fellow who had seen me earlier pulled up and offered to drive me to the gas station.  He helped me lift the heavy jerry can and even waited for my car to finally start. He then also handed me a $20 bill and said "Have dinner on me."

I’ve lived a hard life, so somewhere along the road, I had almost forgotten that there were truly Good Samaritans out there. Believe it or not, but a yahoo group that I am a part of, helped me understand what he meant when he said “you will pay me back someday”. I’ve paid him back, and every day if I can, I want to keep paying them both back!