My Good Samaritan

Saturday Jeff and I spent our afternoon at Target, perusing the aisles, buying stuff we kinda sorta need that are fun (a shelf thing for the kids' bathroom), instead of things that we really need and are no fun (a shredder). We were looking for a highchair for Julianna and they had exactly two to choose from, both of which were horrible. Jules is starting to stretch out her legs and wanting to stand up, and we found a Baby Einstein "exer-saucer" (think stationary walker) that we wanted to get, but they were all out. We make our few purchases and start to head home.

On the way home, there is a section that has 3 lanes at a stop light, and the right hand lane is turn only. People are alllllways getting "stuck" over there trying to get back over to the left because they don't want to turn. We're in the middle lane, right where we need to be and up ahead of us there is a silver beetle in the right lane that is starting to slow down. I can see that they have their hazard lights on, but to Jeff (in the passenger seat) it looks like they have their blinker on to get over. There's plenty of space for them to get over, if that's what they're planning to do, and Jeff make a remark about what a great driver they are if they can't even get over with all that room. As we get closer I can see that the Beetle is going slower and slower, coming to a stop, and as we pass I see that it's a lady all alone and she's completely come to a stop in the lane.

"Something is wrong with her car...I bet she ran out of gas," I said. "Ugh, that sucks," said Jeff -- he speaks from experience having run out of gas a time or two himself. The light ahead of us is red, so we have to stop too, and I look in the rear-view mirror to see what's going on with the car. There's a car behind her, so I figure they're going to stop and help...then they get a clear spot in the left lane and swerve over, leaving the Beetle alone again!

"Babe, no one is stopping to help her," I say. "Uhhh...she'll be okay," said Jeff. I can see in his face, all he's thinking about is how he needs a nap before he has to go in to work that night. "We should help her...what if that were me, wouldn't you want someone to help me?" A big sigh from the passenger seat. "Pull over and I'll get out."

So I pull over into the right lane and he hops out onto the grass to run back and help. I pull into the CVS parking lot that's on the corner and wait for a second. Sure enough, the girl had run out of gas. She said she thought Jeff was just out running and wasn't going to stop to help...although, I don't know who goes out for a run in jean, Converse, and a fleece jacket? Anyway, he pushed her car about 200 or so yards into the parking lot and she was VERY grateful. Her husband is a Houston police officer and that's who she had been on the phone with previously, and he was on his way to help her out.

So that was Jeff's good Samaritan deed of the week, pushing a car off the road single-handedly. We also made it home with time for him to take a good nap before going to work out and head to work.

Now if your car is ever stranded on the road, you know who to call!!