General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)A Karmic Moment? [View all]
This morning as I was driving into work, I pulled out behind one of those huge six-wheeled Pick-up trucks that was lifted so high, you would need a ladder to climb into the cab. It was covered with "NoBama", "Take Back America", "Annoy a Liberal", NRA, and American Flag bumper Stickers.
Well, the traffic slowed to a crawl, this obviously annoyed the guy in the Pick-up as I could see him gesturing wildly. As we approached the intersection, I could see why the traffic had slowed; there was an older model station wagon, stalled smack dab in the middle of the intersection. I sat through two lights, as drivers drove around the vehicle. When I got to a pull off point, I pulled over and started walking to the Station Wagon; I decided to help push the vehicle out of the intersection. I noticed that three other people were walking towards the car, as well.
When I got to the Station Wagon, I saw an "older" woman (in tears), with two young children (her grand-children that she was caring for, as her daughter had dropped them off and "disappeared" ; but disturbingly, there appeared to be evidence that these "commuters", very well may have been living out of the vehicle ... there were plastic bags full of clothes, empty fast-food bags, and a couple of jugs of water and toys, in the back.
After we pushed the vehicle out of the intersection and to the side of the road, we began talking to the woman. It turns out she had, in fact, been living out of the car; but had recently gotten a job, that she was on her way to, for her second day. (That was the real source of her distress ... that she would be late to work and lose her job).
As fate would have it, one of the people that helped push the vehicle out of the intersection owned an auto repair shop and called to have the vehicle towed to the shop. He told her that he would get the vehicle running, and when the woman protested saying, "I have no money", the repair shop owner said with a smile, "Just pay me whatever you can afford ... I'm trying to get into Heaven and have plenty of ground to make up!" What's more, the woman that had stopped to help push offerred to give the woman a ride to work; but, incredibly, she owned a daychild center and offerred to take in the two grand-children, "for as long as she needed", again saying, "Pay me whatever you can afford." I, then, reached into my pocket and handed her all that was in it ... about $250.00 ... and told her that maybe she could use it to get a good meal and maybe get a room for a couple nights.
Now the woman was in full-out bawling-mode. To be honest, I felt guilty in that I had nothing to offer this family in distress other than money.
Back to Mr. Big Pick-up Guy ...
As I initially passed Mr. Big Pick-up truck Guy, he had his window down yelling all sorts of profanities at the driver of the stalled car (not that she could hear him at that distance, or over the blaring of The garrett lewis (rightwing radio) Show. As he drove passed us pushing the vehicle, he sped past with a single finger out the window, yelling "kept that piece of sh!t off the road; but worse, he nearly missed hitting those of us pushing.
As I continued my commute, I felt pretty good that total strangers had interrupted their routine commute to aid another stranger ... all was right with the universe; I also, couldn't help think how big an a$$hole Mr. Big Pick-up Guy was.
Then an amazing thing happened, I looked up at saw Mr. Big Pick-up Guy, standing on the side of the road ... next to his vehicle ... that was wrapped around a telephone pole.
Then it came to me: Focus on the good and decent folks ... Don't concern yourself with the a$$holes of the world. The universe has got this!