The Awesome Samaritan

When you are a forgetful scatter-brain like me, you thank your lucky stars that there are still Good Samaritans out in the world.

I can't tell you how many times complete strangers have turned in my misplaced wallet (completely intact!) or stopped to help me with car trouble. I am super-duper lucky, and frankly, I don't understand why they're called "Good Samaritans" when clearly they are coming to your rescue in a time of great need. They should be called "Awesome Samaritans".



Packing for my Camp-stravaganza, I was running on a very tight timetable running last minute errands. My final stop was the most important: a beer run. I pull in to a parking spot right in front of the store, throw my keys in my purse, then turn to get out of the car when I think to myself... "I don't need my whole purse for this."

Big mistake. Huge. I grabbed the keys by the discount cards hanging from it and bounce out of the car, locking & shutting the door behind me, in one fell swoop.

Except.... no keys attached to those discount cards. Oops.

Long story short, waited in the liquor store with my shopping cart full of my six cases of beer (30-pk of cans no less!) .... I had called the local police department, and knew it might be a while (I am an expert in such disasters)... and after an hour.... finally remembered that I have AAA.

Duh. Except... I didn't have my phone. Remember the part about leaving the whole purse in the car? Luckily, said liquor store employs an Awesome Samaritan, who happily lent me his cell phone to make all the calls I needed.

The AAA guy pulled in two minutes later as I was dialing the police department back to call off the dogs.


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Have you ever been an Awesome Samaritan? I know it's hard these days to offer help to a complete stranger because it seems like no one trusts anyone at all anymore, and you're not sure if your sincere offer for help will turn into you getting victimized. But do you extend help anyone?

Just wondering if anyone still would lend their cell phone to a complete stranger, or pull over if someone needed roadside help.

Or has a complete stranger helped you in a bind, and you're not sure why they stopped to help?

(Back before cell phones, my car died at 6AM in the middle of I-95 by the Cottman Road exit... and a random tow truck driver happened to drive by and pull over.)

I wanna hear what you guys think about this. And should I send a thank-you gift to my Awesome Samaritan, or was my spoken thanks enough?