Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Yesterday I was returning from Boston by bus. My wife was planning to leave work to pick me up from the the bus station. I called her to say not to bother, I would just take the local transit bus to her.

This was the first time I had ever ridden the local bus system. While I was sitting on the bus a young woman with a dog got on. She was carrying several bags of heavy books. I noticed the dog was an emergency dog, one that is trained to warn the owner of a possible seizure.

I heard the young women mention to someone else that she still had two miles to walk with the heavy books after she got off the bus. I thought maybe I should ask if she wanted a ride but I wasn't sure which stop she was getting off at so I hesitated and  didn't ask.

The bus dropped me off at the stop where my wife was waiting. As we were driving home, all of a sudden I saw the same young lady with her dog. The bags were by the side of the road.

I asked my wife to pull over and I asked the young lady if she would like a ride. I explained to her that I had overheard her on the bus. She said she would love a ride but she was concerned about the dog who was quite big and a little on the feeble side.  

I asked if the dog could get in the car. He tried to do it by himself but in the end I had to lift him in. By the way, the dog's name was Sam!

The young lady got in and I looked back. There was Sam, sitting very proudly in the back seat with his owner. It was quite a sight!  

We took them both home and the lady was very appreciative.

When reflecting on this experience I was a little sad that I did not act the first time on the bus. But I was very happy to have had the second chance to do what I should have done the first time.