Tonight, I hopped into my minivan, on my way to an evening meeting/holiday gathering.
I turned the key and all I got was click…click…click.
Ugh. Dead battery.
I knew immediately what had happened. The kids had left the lights on by their seats and I’d forgotten to turn off the master switch.
Our AAA and Honda road assistance have long since expired, so I headed to the parking garage office to see if I could get ahold of someone who could give me a jump. No way I was going to make my meeting, so I let go of any anger and frustration and resolved to just work through this mini disaster.
That’s when I met Judy. As I was about to reach for the Yellow Pages, Judy offered to help me instead.
She explained that she wasn’t supposed to do this (leave her post and do favors for garage customers), but she happened to have a battery charger in her car for emergencies (the idea of being stranded on a cold Chicago street late at night has her prepared). She instructed me to take a seat while she retrieved the charger and plugged it in to juice up the battery.
That started to take longer than she liked, even though I was frankly enjoying her company in the garage office. So Judy loaded me into her car, drove up to my van, expertly attached the cables and after a few extra taps on her accelerator, I was on the road and on my way home.
Urban living can be taxing, with exhausting commutes and hectic schedules. But this was a lovely reminder that I live in a community, where kindness — even from perfect strangers — is all around.
Now…what to do for Judy to say thanks. I’d sing her praises to garage management, but I’d hate for her to get in trouble for helping me out.
She seemed to appreciate a couple grateful hugs and my pledge to keep her in my prayers.
Virtual Farmgirl 