I know him only as George. He didn't give me his last name. He works for Aqua America, the water company.
He's my new hero. Not so much for what he did, but for restoring my faith that there are good people out there.
Ironically, I ran into George just a couple of hours after I penned an editorial lauding two other people who did the right thing. Charles Ramsey is the man in Cleveland who rocketed to fame after helping break down a door so a woman who had been held captive for 10 years could escape her tormentors.
Closer to home, Alston Ross was working in his soul food restaurant early Tuesday in Upper Darby when a frantic young girl came into his shop saying a man was trying to lure her into his car. Ross came to her aid, checked on the car outside - which promptly fled - and then went the extra mile, walking the scared young girl to school. You can read that edit here.
My run-in with George came a couple of hours later.
I was invited to a media panel for high school kids held by the Delaware County Leadership Academy at Penn State Brandywine. I love doing it because it gives me a chance to sit at a table and talk to young people. They help me feel young.
My problem came as I left. As usual I jumped in the car and started doing a thousand things at once. I know, I'm a classic distracted driver. This one didn't even involve the phone. I was reaching for something in the passenger seat when I felt the thud. I had managed to drive up over the curb. I quickly pulled the car back to the left - coming back down off the curb in the process - and then held my breath.
Unfortunately, the air was escaping from me - and my tire. It had blown. I pulled to the side of Route 352. A quick inspection showed the tire was mangled.
Now I am not what you would call mechanically inclined. After I got done cursing my stupidity and trying to rein in my blood pressure, I reluctantly got the jack out of the trunk and started the grim process of changing the tire. I had managed to jack up the car when I started attacking the lug nuts, or they started attacking me, I'm not sure which. That's when I realized one of them was a locking lug nut. I got back in the car to find the key for it when I felt another thud. The jack had collapsed, and was now wedged under the car. I was resigned to getting road service, while my blood pressure was going the opposite direction of the flat tire I was staring at.
I was literally on the phone when I saw the Aqua Pa. truck pull up behind me. The smiling guy got out and headed right for me. "Trouble?" he said with a reassuring smile while extending his hand. "No problem. I'll have you out of here in 15 minutes."
He was good to his word. Before I could bat an eye George had whipped out a real jack from the back of his truck, had the car up and was working on the locking lug nut.
"I do this all the time," he said. "Just my way of giving back."
George had the doughnut on the car and the mangled tire back in my trunk in the blink of an eye. I think maybe he felt sorry for this stiff in the suit and tie standing on the side of the road staring at a flat tire like it was some kind of alien being.
He didn't even want me to pick up the old tire and wheel. "Let me get that," he said.
I asked him if there was anything I could do for him.
"Nah," he said. "I do this all the time."
"Do you have grandkids?" he asked. I told him I hoped to some day. "Buy them an ice cream cone."
George is from Norwood. Much like Charles Ramsey and Alston Ross, he is proof that there are good people out there. In my line of work, we sometimes forget that, focusing on those doing the wrong thing.
There are other stories, ones about people doing good things.
Thanks for reminding me, George. I owe you one.
He's my new hero. Not so much for what he did, but for restoring my faith that there are good people out there.
Ironically, I ran into George just a couple of hours after I penned an editorial lauding two other people who did the right thing. Charles Ramsey is the man in Cleveland who rocketed to fame after helping break down a door so a woman who had been held captive for 10 years could escape her tormentors.
Closer to home, Alston Ross was working in his soul food restaurant early Tuesday in Upper Darby when a frantic young girl came into his shop saying a man was trying to lure her into his car. Ross came to her aid, checked on the car outside - which promptly fled - and then went the extra mile, walking the scared young girl to school. You can read that edit here.
My run-in with George came a couple of hours later.
I was invited to a media panel for high school kids held by the Delaware County Leadership Academy at Penn State Brandywine. I love doing it because it gives me a chance to sit at a table and talk to young people. They help me feel young.
My problem came as I left. As usual I jumped in the car and started doing a thousand things at once. I know, I'm a classic distracted driver. This one didn't even involve the phone. I was reaching for something in the passenger seat when I felt the thud. I had managed to drive up over the curb. I quickly pulled the car back to the left - coming back down off the curb in the process - and then held my breath.
Unfortunately, the air was escaping from me - and my tire. It had blown. I pulled to the side of Route 352. A quick inspection showed the tire was mangled.
Now I am not what you would call mechanically inclined. After I got done cursing my stupidity and trying to rein in my blood pressure, I reluctantly got the jack out of the trunk and started the grim process of changing the tire. I had managed to jack up the car when I started attacking the lug nuts, or they started attacking me, I'm not sure which. That's when I realized one of them was a locking lug nut. I got back in the car to find the key for it when I felt another thud. The jack had collapsed, and was now wedged under the car. I was resigned to getting road service, while my blood pressure was going the opposite direction of the flat tire I was staring at.
I was literally on the phone when I saw the Aqua Pa. truck pull up behind me. The smiling guy got out and headed right for me. "Trouble?" he said with a reassuring smile while extending his hand. "No problem. I'll have you out of here in 15 minutes."
He was good to his word. Before I could bat an eye George had whipped out a real jack from the back of his truck, had the car up and was working on the locking lug nut.
"I do this all the time," he said. "Just my way of giving back."
George had the doughnut on the car and the mangled tire back in my trunk in the blink of an eye. I think maybe he felt sorry for this stiff in the suit and tie standing on the side of the road staring at a flat tire like it was some kind of alien being.
He didn't even want me to pick up the old tire and wheel. "Let me get that," he said.
I asked him if there was anything I could do for him.
"Nah," he said. "I do this all the time."
"Do you have grandkids?" he asked. I told him I hoped to some day. "Buy them an ice cream cone."
George is from Norwood. Much like Charles Ramsey and Alston Ross, he is proof that there are good people out there. In my line of work, we sometimes forget that, focusing on those doing the wrong thing.
There are other stories, ones about people doing good things.
Thanks for reminding me, George. I owe you one.
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