A little random feel good story.

I was driving home from work (which is sadly when I have my biggest revelations or interesting moments) when I pulled up at a stop light. I was the third or fourth car back in the line. I noticed in the left hand turn lane two gents pushing their car.

A fellow at the head of the row of cars in my lane jumped out of his vehicle and started helping them push. He helped them get the car all the way to the gas station on the opposite corner.

By the time our light turned green, he was across the intersection in the median. He had abandoned his car but it appeared the passenger had hopped over to the driver’s side and when the light turned green, drove the car up to the median and picked him up. We did have to wait a bit while he got back in the car but then we drove on.

Here’s why I felt this little incident significant:

1. What a nice guy to offer to help without being asked and with basically no payoff other than the satisfaction of doing the good thing and helping someone out.
2. None of the cars in our lane honked, passed him, made any sort of offensive gesture. People were patient. Crazy, right?
3. What I discovered a little later after some cars had turned off or changed lanes was that this gentleman was driving a newish, top of the line BMW.

Why would it matter what he was driving, you may wonder. As much as I try not to judge people and try to stereotype as little as possible, I admit that I don’t always succeed. My first guess would have been that it was some lower middle class fellow who had jumped out to push some other guy’s dead, older, scuffed Nissan across an intersection.

That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised to see it was, in fact, an affluent person who still had the spirit in him to help someone out.

It warmed my heart.

And it also slapped my face. It forced me to look at the judgments I still make about people. Remind me to tell you sometime about some of the judgment faux pas that have made my inner feminist weep.

As much as I detest admitting that I’m wrong (and luckily I don’t have to that often – wink, wink), this was an instance that I am very okay with being proven wrong.

At any rate, I felt good about this incident. I felt good about seeing this man help some people out. I felt good about being wrong (after the initial shame had passed). And I felt good about being able to grow from the experience.

It was a good day.