The Good Samaritan

Every now and then you come across remarkable individuals that make you stop and wonder, makes you believe the humankind and inspire you to be better. I came across such an individual few weeks ago. I was driving home after work and my trusted companion, my car decided to shut down in the middle of the road. There never is a perfect time to face a car breakdown, but having to face it night before you are scheduled to go on a holiday was not the best of time. I was already so far behind my packing and getting things in order for the holiday so having to face a car breakdown was a total nightmare.

However I consider myself to be lucky that it happened before I enter the motorway. I could only imagine how catastrophic it would have been if I was travelling on the motorway 100/kmh. Anyway there I was causing a huge traffic jam on Christmas eve eve (or 23^rd December) parked at an intersection. I could see the long queue of vehicles piling up behind me through the rear-view mirror. Drivers and passenger of pass by cars were throwing curious looks. Even though it was not my fault I felt embarrassed. And to make things worse the road side assistance customer services cheerfully notified there would be a 1 ½-2 hour waiting time all thanks to 40 degrees weather we were having that day.

I called PRA to see if he could come and pick me up but I could not get hold of him on any of the numbers I rang. So much for my knight in shining armour!!  Why does he never pick up his damn phone whenever I need him?

I could feel myself getting worked up. I was not sure with who I should get angry at; the VW Service Centre who scheduled my next service later than I planned; PRA for not picking up the phones; or with myself for letting myself slip and not getting the packing done on time. 

It didn't matter which way I thought there was not a single way I could have predicted or avoided the incident. I took a deep breath and told myself – this too will pass, just be in the moment, this is what it is.

I sat there with my blinkers on and turned on radio to listen to some music, but honestly I was waiting for the radio station to announce the traffic jam I was causing during the rush hour.

Taking deep breaths I try to relax. –Breathing in I calm my body and mind, breathing out I smile -I remember the teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh’s  and try to follow it..

I wasn't doing good as I could feel myself being burned with embarrassment. I avoid looking at passing by cars and that is how I missed the two fireies stopping over to knock on my window.

‘Your car is broken down? ‘ If I was not too embarrassed I would have said ‘ isn't that the obvious’ , instead I was polite in my reply

‘Yes I rang the NRMA and they are going to send a tore tuck to move it, it’s going to take another 1 1 /2 hrs it seems’

‘OK what we will do it push you over to the island, you will be safe there until tore truck come to fetch you’- one of the fireies smiled. Gosh what they show on TV is real, those two were hunks. Damn I was too distressed to take a photo to share with my girlfriends to show how I was being rescued by two handsome fire fighters!

While the two fireies started pushing the on to the safety zone a third guy came from the opposite side of the road. I vaguely remember him getting out of his UTE that was stopped for traffic light and coming over to push my car. Only when I was pushed on to the safety zone and the two fireies took off I realised I never got around to thanking the third person or could not even remember his face. 

 Once I was in safety I was bit relaxed. I was not causing any traffic jams, help was on its way and one of my closest friends was on the other end of the phone line. I was sharing my ordeal with my friend when Kyle jumped in to the passenger seat and introduces himself to me-

‘Hi I’m Kyle’‘You listen to the same radio station as I do. Do you like Michael Buble?’

During the first few minutes I thought he was a technician from road side assistance because of the way he inspect the car. When he realised that there wasn't a quick fix he settled in and told me he was the 3^rd guy who helped to push my car to the safety zone. And the Good Samaritan has come back to check if I was doing OK.

At the beginning it was a polite chat about the music station we both listen, about work, Christmas rush and breakdowns. Then he inquired about my origin. When he found I was from Sri Lanka I could see the excitement bubbling in him. He jumped up like a kid with a Christmas present. It was apparent; Kyle was in love with Sri Lanka!

For a person who has never been to the country he knew more about Sri Lanka than most Sri Lankas do. He knew the geography of the country, the political climate, the cultural differences, the music and the food. And icing on the cake was he loved hot food not the foreign version! He has been in school in year five when he first heard about ‘Ceylon’, and this has made him curious about travelling and exploring. His fascination with the country is so much so that he believes he must have lived in the country in a different life time.
In the next 1 ½ hrs we were chatting away like old friends, sharing stories about the country we both love, our families and our work. He told me about the funeral he was returning from, about the friend he had farewell that evening, the bond he has with his kids, marriage that didn't work and the new love in his life, his journeys across mountains… I could see the kindness in his eyes and generosity in his words flowing through

When the tore truck operator turned up to collect my car he was the one who asked all the technical questions from the driver sparing me the agony of going through stuff that I pretty much didn't understand. When I was told I have to find my own way home Kyle asked me would I trust him to drop me home. Even though my logical mind politely reminded me that I knew next to nothing about this Good Samaritan it felt so natural for me to accept his offer instead of waiting for one of my friends to come and pick me up.

The nervous feeling I had at the beginning chatting to a complete stranger was pretty much gone by that time.  I was not worried or scared. My inner self was calm knowing that if I was destine to face a disaster that day my car would have broken down on the Motorway not be mugged or assaulted by a Good Samaritan who spend last  1 ½ hrs sharing his love for a country he has never visited. Looking back I think all his stories was simply to calm me down and make me comfortable than anything else.

Kyle not only dropped me home he staid back and had a nice long chat with PRA.  He shared his fascination over few cups of tea ( Dilma tea of cause) . PRA and I both were so overwhelmed by his kindness we extend him an invitation to join us for dinner with his partner. I hope he will take us on this as we would love to cook him some Sri Lankan food.

People like Kyle make this world a wonderful place to be and open up your heart to receive strangers in a new light. I wish one day I would be able to pay forward the kindness I received from Kyle in the same sincere, compassionate and warm hearted way I received it.

Thank You Kyle for making a horrible experience a wonderful memory.