NEVER pick up hitchikers. NEVER. EVER. They're usually always axe murderers or rapists up to no good. Usually.
I've ignored that warning exactly three times in my lifetime and every time I came away safely, uplifted and feeling like it was the exact right thing to do at that point in time.
This is not a practice that I am advocating, and its not a situation that I am planning to repeat in the future. I just know that every once in awhile.. the inner voice tells me (LOUDLY) to do something and if I do it...something good happens.
The first time was back when my son was about 8 years old. It was a very hot summer day and we were out running errands and enjoying the air conditioning in our car. I was on my way to Walmart and there was a young man walking along the road. I knew him from when I used to work at a bank. He was mentally challenged and he used to come in and do his banking with his father. His father was trying to teach him how to be an independent adult. His father had passed away a few years ago and now Tim was on his own. He never got a driver's license and he lived close to the stores and bank so he could walk or ride a bus anywhere he needed to go. He was limping and he looked to be headed in the same direction we were going. I felt the need to pull over and help this man escape the heat. I looked at my son and I said " I know him, I used to wait on him at the bank...he looks like he needs a ride. Doesn't he?"
I pulled over and asked Tim where he was going.. "I'm headed to Walmart to get a prescription and catch the bus.." I told him to hop in. He did. I dropped him off at the door and he hobbled on his way. My son and I got what we needed and as we were leaving I caught sight of our friend getting on his bus.
The next time I chose to follow my inner voice, it was about 10 years later, again it was a very hot day. One of those southern Illinois days that's notorious for melting asphalt. This time it was a young mother, with a child of approximately 3 years of age clutching her hand. They were walking away from an overheating car along a very busy stretch of road. I pulled over and asked her if she needed any help. Her face immediately relaxed and she asked if I wouldn't mind dropping her off up the road about 5 miles away at her mother's house. It was on my way, I knew the neighborhood. She was very grateful. I waited till she let herself into the house, her son grinned and waved at me as they walked in.
The last time was just a few weeks ago. It was after 9pm on a Wednesday night, it was a chilly that night and it was starting to rain and I had to run out and get my daughter some cold medicine because she was at home sick, and desperately needed some chicken noodle soup and Nyquil...and that's what moms do. I was coming out of my apartment complex and headed towards the highway when I saw a young man balancing a laundry basket on one hip, and dragging a wheeled basket behind him..... I knew the closest laundromat was only a few blocks away, but what a miserable night to have to walk there. I pulled over and asked him if he needed a lift up the road. He gratefully loaded his laundry into the back seat and sat beside it. I asked him... 'you're not an axe murderer or anything, are you?" he laughed and said... "nah, just a poor college student". I dropped him off at the laundromat and he said 'thank you...I really appreciate this...".
I know it's not much in the grand scheme of things, but you never know what little things you can do, how they ripple out like a pebble dropped into still water. I spent maybe an hour out of my life, total, on those three little events. An hour out of my life, that's it. How much of a difference did I make in those three lives? Probably not a lot, or any at all, really. But someday, that little boy might remember how a stranger helped him and his mom...and he might do the same for another young mother and her kid. Tim might remember that some people can be nice to him and the world isn't always so mean. Maybe that college kid will help someone else. You never know. Those little things just keep rippling out and before you know it...it is a really big ripple.
The last time was just a few weeks ago. It was after 9pm on a Wednesday night, it was a chilly that night and it was starting to rain and I had to run out and get my daughter some cold medicine because she was at home sick, and desperately needed some chicken noodle soup and Nyquil...and that's what moms do. I was coming out of my apartment complex and headed towards the highway when I saw a young man balancing a laundry basket on one hip, and dragging a wheeled basket behind him..... I knew the closest laundromat was only a few blocks away, but what a miserable night to have to walk there. I pulled over and asked him if he needed a lift up the road. He gratefully loaded his laundry into the back seat and sat beside it. I asked him... 'you're not an axe murderer or anything, are you?" he laughed and said... "nah, just a poor college student". I dropped him off at the laundromat and he said 'thank you...I really appreciate this...".
I know it's not much in the grand scheme of things, but you never know what little things you can do, how they ripple out like a pebble dropped into still water. I spent maybe an hour out of my life, total, on those three little events. An hour out of my life, that's it. How much of a difference did I make in those three lives? Probably not a lot, or any at all, really. But someday, that little boy might remember how a stranger helped him and his mom...and he might do the same for another young mother and her kid. Tim might remember that some people can be nice to him and the world isn't always so mean. Maybe that college kid will help someone else. You never know. Those little things just keep rippling out and before you know it...it is a really big ripple.
