I was surprised recently by the kindness of strangers… in New York City!
Early on July 4th, I was driving four people to JFK Airport from northern New Jersey. The start of the trip was smooth and uneventful, but as we exited the Grand Central Parkway and merged onto the Van Wyck Expressway (VWE), the SUV I was driving started to sputter and lose power. The dashboard lights lit up like a Christmas tree.
I told my passengers something was wrong with the vehicle, but I did not know what. Thinking quickly, I told my passengers that I was going to take the next exit, onto a VWE service road, in case the vehicle died… and it did.
We managed to get out of the major traffic on the Van Wyck and just made it to a stoplight at Hillside Avenue. I apologized to my passengers for this big inconvenience. Then I suggested they get an Uber for the remaining five miles of the trek to JFK.
I then called Dispatch and explained the precarious situation I was in. The dispatcher asked me if I was actually on the VWE. I told him “no,” and he said that was good because they could not get a tow truck to me if it was stalled on the VWE. Isn’t that crazy?
It took six hours for the tow truck to get to me. This was not surprising, because it was the start of the July 4th weekend. What did I do for 6 hours? So many things happened.
Not Surprising
As I was waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I watched at least eight NYC police cars drive right by me. I was not surprised by this because the police don’t stop for traffic accidents or incidents. Why? Because they say they are too busy chasing murderers and rapists. (Seriously, an NYC police officer once told me that.)
I also watched as more than one tow truck passed me without stopping. There was one tow truck driver, however, who gave me his card and said if I needed a tow, to call his office. I thought that was nice.
My hazard lights were on, and I opened my back hatch and my hood, but cars still lined up behind me, honking their horns furiously. I was not surprised by this, either. Eventually, some drivers got the message and moved around me after I wrote on two big signs, “Please Move Around Me.”
The Kindness of Strangers
While I was waiting for the tow truck, I was surprised by the number of strangers who stopped and asked me if I needed help. There must have been 10 people who stopped and offered their sympathy.
One person, a TLC driver, offered to jump start my battery with a small battery pack he had. I gratefully accepted his offer of help. Alas, his efforts were in vain, but I told him I still greatly appreciated what he tried to do for me!
My Protection
During all this, a homeless man walked up to me and asked me for money. I gave him a bottle of water. He then told me he was going to offer me protection. I said to myself, “What is this, the mafia?” I told him I didn’t need protection. He then proceeded to stand behind my vehicle and wave cars away to the left and right, since I was in the middle lane at the stop light.
I then found a shady area around the corner, where I rested. An hour later, the homeless man walked over to me and said, “Your tow truck is here.” He continued shooing away vehicles, offering me protection. After the tow truck driver secured the vehicle and said it was time to go, I gave the homeless man $5 and thanked him for his help. The man was so shocked, it was as if he had ever seen an Abe Lincoln before!
The flat bed /tow truck operator was very friendly and nice. He told me his life story in the hour drive back to the office. When he dropped me off, I thanked him and gave him $10 (2 Abe Lincolns) and apologized that I did not have more money to give him as a tip. He was grateful and thanked me.
The moral of this Street Story is two-fold. First, if you are in an emergency situation, don’t panic. Try to keep calm and assure your passengers that everything will be OK (even if you’re not sure it will!). Second, try to keep an open mind and remain open to the kindness of strangers. There are a lot of kind and well intentioned people in this world. Sometimes it takes a crises or mishap to bring out the best in people. Behind the brash New York attitude, you may find the kindness of strangers.
