Helping strangers a way of life

November 16, 2007 03:08 pm

— The editor:
I was in town last week for my son's football game on Saturday and visited an auto parts store to pick up some coolant for my truck. In front of the store was a man looking under the hood of an old car that didn't look to be in very good shape.
As I walked by the man, he looked up and asked if I would help him jump-start his car. I asked him what was wrong and he told me the store had tested his battery and it was bad. I commented, if the battery was bad the car may not start by jumping the bad battery. He told me he had jumped started the car 10 to 15 times in the last week. Not a very pleasant thought, as the weather had been cold most of the week.
He said he had been down on his luck, but was hoping to have enough money to buy a battery the following Thursday when he got paid. He said all he needed was someone to just help him get his car started. You could tell the man wasn't totally comfortable asking for help. I told him I would help get his car going when I came back outside. I went inside, purchased the coolant, and asked a store employee how much a battery cost for the man's car. He quoted a price. Then I asked, if I was willing to buy the man a new battery, how much of a discount would you give him and what could you do for him.
The manager immediately stepped up and offered to discount the battery and said they would install it and get the man back on the road. I paid for the discounted battery and went back outside. I told the man the store had decided to help him get his car going and they would be out to help him in a few minutes.
As I drove away the employees came out to help the man. We all need a little help every now and then and sometimes we need a little more help than we are willing to ask for. Last Saturday was my turn and the auto parts store manager's turn.
Thankfully we recognized our chance to make a difference in someone's life and didn't let that opportunity slip away. My guess is the people of Morehead very seldom miss an opportunity to make a difference as helping friends, neighbors, or even strangers seems to be a way of life in Morehead.

Bill Armstrong
Marietta, Georgia