Robert Plant & Alison Krauss : Your Long Journey

Watching Out For Each Other

As she headed out to work on a very cold February morning, she felt especially fortunate to be driving in her newly purchased car. The seats were extra cushy and the heater was blowing nice warm air. As she rounded the corner, she noticed a pedestrian struggling not to slip on the icy street. The wind was fierce and the freshly fallen snow was blowing. The pedestrian appeared to be very cold, by the way he was hunched over and kept reaching for the hood of his thin jacket. As she drove closer, she also noticed that the young man wasn't wearing boots, nor did he have gloves on. She thought about how comfortable she was, and felt bad that the young man looked so cold. In a split second, she decided to pull the car over and ask if the young man needed a ride. The young man surprisingly said, "Yeah, sure". She then asked where he was heading, and he replied, "Well, I'm headed to the corner, to catch a bus to the mall". She said, "Hop in, I'm headed in that direction, I can take you there". The frozen young man entered the car and buckled the seatbelt. He thanked her for the ride, and proceeded to tell her his name. He was very appreciative and friendly. He explained that he lived a few doors down from her and told how he didn't own a car, and that he and his wife were expecting a baby in the spring. He also told about how he had returned from Iraq a few months back and that he was very glad to be back and to have finally found a job, after a very long search.

She glanced over at him and noticed that he wasn't wearing any gloves. "Gee, you're not even wearing any gloves, you've got to be pretty cold?" He smiled and said, "Well, um, pay day isn't until Friday".  She took off her warm black gloves and handed them to him, like an overly protective Mom. She said, "Here, take 'em, I've got another pair just like 'em at home", He replied "Hey thanks, I really appreciate it, hey thanks". She was munching on her morning slice of toast and realized that it wasn't very polite to be eating in front of him, so she asked if he'd had any breakfast, and he hadn't. She then reached out and offered him her second piece of toast and he smiled again, and took it and took a bite. At that point, they were entering the freeway. As she merged into the busy morning traffic, she realized that since she had another passenger, she could take advantage of the speedy car pool lane. They chatted about the slow job market, the neighborhood and his pregnant wife. As they approached the mall, she mentioned that she would look for him in the morning, and if she saw him, she would be willing to drop him off at work again. They both talked about the importance of  helping out fellow people and he again expressed his gratitude to her for the ride. They exchanged names and phone numbers and wished each other a good day.
As he walked away, they both smiled and waved goodbye.

Watching out for each other, paying it forward, whatever you want to call it. We should all try and help each other out. Showing a little kindness, offering help to someone. People are usually so guarded and quick to question why people offer to help out complete strangers. I hope I made this young man's day, I know it made my day.