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June 12, 1995 Editor To the Editor: There's a good Samaritan in your midst, and I thought you
ought
to know. I met him the other night when I was stranded with my
wife and two children on the on-ramp to I-495 South off Route
114. A few cars swung around and up the hill towards us and I
waved them around, wondering how I'd get out of this mess. It
was dangerous. Then along came Win, who just as naturally as could
be nudged his Taurus wagon up to my bumper and yelled, "I'll
push you." Push us he did, all the way into downtown Andover,
where we pulled into a parking lot. That would have been enough for my story, but Win didn't leave
it there. He asked us if we had friends or relatives around, and
when we said no, he proposed an idea that still amazes me. He's
a mechanic, he said, and we agreed my problem was that my battery
was dead because my charging system wasn't re-charging it. He
suggested that a fully charged battery would be enough to fire
my spark plugs for the couple of hours I needed to get home. He
would go home, get the battery from his own pickup, swap it with
mine, and I'd be on my way. His battery cost $40, so I gave him
$40 to cover the cost of it. If my battery was good, he'd be 40
bucks the better, and I'd have saved a lot more than that on a
tow and a motel room, not to mention the lost work on Monday.
And that's just how it worked. Win's battery got me home with
charge to spare, and my kids got to bed on time. I only hope my
battery lasts him for years. I'll remember Win for a long time, for his kindness. And I'll
remember his oil-grimed mechanic's hands, because they're how
I trusted him. But what I might remember most is how he kept saying,
over and over, things like, "The Lord works in mysterious
ways," and "I didn't even know where I was headed when
I came on you," and "I guess I was out to find you."
Amherst, MA |