Paying it Forward...

I was on the road shortly before 9:00 this morning.  The wind was blowing a bit, but the predicted forecast was for deteriorating weather by late this afternoon.  I also didn't want to leave any earlier so I could avoid most of the rush hour while going through Kansas City.  Things went smoothly until I was merging onto
I-435.  Traffic was heavy and because of the merge, I was in the left hand lane when suddenly a two foot long piece of flat steel was laying across the left hand side of my lane.  I tried to avoid it, but couldn't move too far or quickly as it was on a curve, and you just don't do wild movements with a 30' rig towing a car.  The front tire missed it, but I guess the back tire caught it as I heard a thud and saw the piece of steel going flying off the road into the median.  I thought I was okay, but about a mile down the road people began honking their horns and wildly flailing their arms.  As soon as I was safely able, I moved over two lanes and pulled off on the shoulder.  One of the beeping cars pulled over ahead of me.

As the young man got out of his car and headed for my rig, I staggered out the door shaking like a leaf!  I didn't know what to expect.  It turned out that the piece of steel had shot back into the driver's side of the toad through the bumper and had apparently sliced the tire.  By the time I was able to stop, the tire had been shredded and I was driving on the rim.  As I looked at it, my head was swimming.  :(  I needed to figure out what to do on this very busy interstate.  The young man asked if I had a spare tire, and I said yes, one of those little donuts.  He then proceeded to change the tire, and asked me to follow him so he could lead me to a Walmart that sold tires a few miles away.  He warned me not to go to the left off of the highway as it was a rather unsavory neighborhood.

How blessed I was this morning that this young Good Samaritan not only stopped to help me, but lead me to a place where I could purchase a new tire.   He also volunteered to stay with me until the fix was accomplished, but I told him I thought I could handle it from there.  As I tried to thank him for his kindness, he told me he was just "paying it forward."  He hoped that if he needed help in the future, someone would stop for him.  I never even got his name.  I'm guessing that he was probably in his early thirties.  His mother should be very proud of him!  I was and am very moved by his kindness. 

I hope we all remember to "pay it forward," it can mean so much to someone in need.... Nothing else seems worth mentioning tonight after this experience.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy