About the Author: Judi Hindes is a resident at the Masonic Village at Sewickley.
It was a foggy night in Aleppo Township when out of the darkness a deer darted by us … and then it happened. A thundering thud … followed by the realization that we were, indeed, off the road! “What” road, we weren’t exactly sure … but we were sure we were in trouble! Not only was it dark and raining in addition to dense fog surrounding us, but we had elderly passengers as well as handicapped. (An unsettling scenario for sure!)
In surveying the situation we discovered we were near the top of School Street and encircled in ice and mud accompanied by pouring down rain. AAA, of course, wanted an address … which we didn’t have! Eventually we were told they would get to us in approximately a half hour. However, after about 35 minutes and before they arrived, an “angel” appeared at our window in the form of a good-looking, young man by the name of Chris who indicated he lived close by. He said it looked like we could use a bit of help. We thanked him for stopping, told him we had called AAA and expected him to go on his way. BUT that was not to be the case. He said, as he stood in the rain, that he was staying with us until they came – having no idea when that would be. We could hardly believe what we were hearing!!!
It was EXTREMELY comforting to have “Chris” there … especially since we weren’t sure AAA would ever find us as they had to follow our somewhat sketchy directions which were given in place of an address. While waiting for them, Chris commented that he couldn’t believe four cars actually passed us by without even slowing down! I told him his “Random Act of Kindness” more than made up for all of them!
Chris, if you are reading this – and we hope you are – we thank you so very much again. As promised, to repay you for your kindness, each of us intends to do a favor for someone else … In other words, we will, as the movie portrays, Pay It Forward!
