Be a star in someones dark sky -- Matshona Dhliwayo
It was 2:30AM on Assateague Island Maryland. Miles down the deserted beach in the middle of nowhere. The beach had narrowed and sloped severely into the Atlantic ocean. The incoming tide lapped over the dry sand turning it into quicksand. My brand new 1981 Toyota 4WD pickup sank all the way to the frame. I frantically tried to dig it out with a folding shovel. It was hopeless. I gave up and sat on the beach watching in horror as the advancing waves crashed into the side of the truck. Looking down the beach there was nothing. The Milky Way shimmered across an inky black sky.
30 minutes later a faint light appears down the beach impossibly far away. A fisherman maybe. He will probably turn off before reaching us. 30 more minutes the light was getting closer. Finally a man in a 1978 Ford Econoline 4WD van drives up. There is a huge captain's fishing chair bolted to the front bumper. The driver stops. He says "you are really stuck here." Any chance you can pull me out? "Not sure this is going to work." We hooked up the recovery rope. The van lurches forward and stops dead sinking into the sand nearly getting stuck. I can smell the clutch burning. He tries one more time. The pickup does not budge. Thank you for trying. Don't get stuck yourself and burn up the clutch. I turned to walk away and the man says "Wait a minute, it's not in 4WD." He locked the differential and pulls the pickup straight out of the sand like a bulldozer. OK I owe you BIG time. How can I pay you back? "You don't owe me anything. Just help someone else when they need help." And he drove away. That this left an impression on me would be a massive understatement.
Fast forward 45 years. There is a lady about my age in front of me at a booth in a self service gas station. She was holding a plastic water bottle and was in distress. I asked what was wrong, and she said "they won't let me get gas in a water bottle." Her car had run out of gas. I said just get a gas can at the grocery store. "If I get a gas can, then I won't have any money for gas."
OK, I'll get a gas can. Of course the grocery store didn't have any gas cans. I told her I would go to the hardware store and be right back. Now she was more distressed. It was getting late. I assured her I would not leave her stranded in this parking lot. I returned and filled up the gas can. We went over to her car and she said it needed a jump start. The battery was dead. She explained someone broke into the car and stole all of the wiring to pay for drugs. Sure enough, the interior panels were ripped off and all of the wiring was gone. I parked my car next to hers to jump start it.
A formidable disheveled drunk man staggers towards us "Hey, whats going on here? Who are you?" The lady moves behind me and says "He is going to jail tonight, he's been trying to grab my boobs all day." The guy moves closer. Now I'm in distress.
At this very moment, two young strapping local guys walk over. "Are you having any problem over here?" Seeing this, the drunk guy turns around and walks away as fast as he could. "Not anymore", I said thanking them.
I put the gas in the car and jump started it. "Drive over to the gas pump and don't turn off the engine." I filled up the car and handed her all the cash I had. She asked "Can I at least get your phone number to thank you for this?" I repeated the man's words on that dark hopeless night on Assateague Island "Just help someone else when they need help."
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