Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Not so long ago on my half-hour commute to work, I passed by a large white van stopped at the side of the road.  At first, I didn't think too much of the situation as it's not out of the ordinary in this area to see vehicles temporarily abandoned while the owners decide what should be done with them.

Inside the van was a girl looking obviously distressed.  She sat in the passenger seat with her eyes fixated forward, ignoring everything.  Up ahead I noticed the only thing she could have been looking at -- about 300 feet up the road was a fellow about my age walking towards town with a red plastic gas can in his hands.

Within a split second, I realized that he had run out of gas and was trying to fill it up.  While the drive to the nearest gas station was only about 5-10 minutes, it's easily an hour long round trip by foot!

So I pulled up beside the fellow on the road and rolled down my window and beckoned for him to get into the car.  "I can tell where you are headed", I said.  "Hop in I will take you there".  Hesitantly, he got into the car.  The entire 10 minutes to the gas station, I could tell that he was nervous, holding onto his gas container and providing only "Yes" and "No" answers to my questions.

After arriving at the gas station, I waited till he filled up the gas container.  After paying for the gas, he returned and reached out to me with a $20 bill and said, "Thank you for everything".  It was at this point that I realized he didn't expect me to stick around.  As far as he was concerned, I had already helped him out enough.  I explained to him that I would only take his $20 if he got back into the car and let me drive him back to his van.  Clearly I could sense his surprise when he realized that I would be willing to drop him back off!

Upon arriving back at the van, Mike handed me a $20.  I handed it back, explaining that I didn't want the money in return; instead I advised him to spend the money on his girlfriend who might benefit from a little cheering up.  Again, I caught him by surprise.

"Can't I give you something?  You've been so awesome,"  he said.  "Sure, you can," I told him.  "Think about today, when you notice someone else stranded on the road, or the next time you can help someone else." 

I then drove away before he had a chance to respond. 

I never found out if Mike made it to his wedding, but I bet the trip there was a little more enlightened.