by Paul Krog
Iowa, USA
It was late at night and I was headed to my home in rural Iowa from a long visit with an old friend. I was riding an old motorcycle I had gotten from another friend. I knew nothing about it, as I had ridden Harleys for 30 years and this was a Japanese bike.
One thing I did know was the smell of rubber when a tire is going flat. It was dark out, getting cold, I was doing 60 miles per hour, and the front tire was going flat! I got the bike stopped and off the road.
I rode the flat to a cross road so I could be out of traffic. Now what to do?
I had no cell phone, and saw no lights in the home nearby. So I sat in the dark and wondered how I was going to get myself home let alone the bike, being still some 25 miles from home.
A car came up from behind me, but I could see it was two young girls, so I knew they would not stop. After a little while, more lights came up behind me. This time it was a truck and he did stop.
He asked if I needed help and I told him I had a flat tire and asked if he had a phone I could use. His phone was dead, but he had a trailer on behind the truck and offered to take me to a small town near where I lived.
So we loaded the old bike up on the trailer and I got in his truck, grateful for his help. His daughter and his son were with him. His son was about three or four years old, and full questions for me. His daughter had to ride in the back seat.
They took me to the small town, and he asked if I knew anyone there to take me home. I told him No, but there was a phone so I could call someone. He thought about it for a moment and said he would just take me on home.
He helped me unload the bike, would not take any money for the trip, and would not give me his address so I could send him some money. I thanked him many times, and then he got in the truck and drove away.
He did not have to do any of this, but he was a good person and helped someone in need. A total stranger picked my bike and me up and took me some 25 miles out of his way to my house. There are still good people in this world. I know, I found one, or should I say, he found me.
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Wonderful story, thanks for sharing.
Made me feel good, inspired, connected.
Yes this was a kind act, but I am dismayed at the low bar being set for what constitutes “above and beyond” behavior!! I do this sort of stuff, a couple of times a month and, to be clear, expect nothing in return. That we are all mesmerized by it, is confusing.
It’s not that we are mesmerized by it, it’s that in a world filled with negative news we need to be reminded that it happens, and happens regularly, as you so clearly exemplify.
I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed in the guy. After riding Harley Davidson motorcycles for 30(!) years, he’s suddenly totally stumped by a Japanese motorcycle? It’s a great story with a wonderful moral, but, sadly, I feel it’s just that – a story.
Mike the curmudgeon
Seriously? This was a flat. I don’t see hoe that’s being “stumped” or has anything to do with his prior experience with bikes. Curmudgeon indeed … I’m sorry that that’s your greatest take-away from this story. 🙁
Um, Leo?
“I was riding an old motorcycle I had gotten from another friend. I knew nothing about it, as I had ridden Harleys for 30 years and this was a Japanese bike.”
Please notice the second sentence in its entirety.
Yes, a “flat tire”. “Flat tire” is something that has absolutely nothing to do with it being a “Japanese bike”. Sort of like someone who has driven a chevy for thirty years being “stumped” about having a “flat tire” when driving a honda.
I did say that it is a very good story with a good moral. It’s the person telling the story I have my “gripe” about. It was not necessary to specify what bikes he had or had not ridden. IMO, that takes much away from a good story.
Yes, I am a “curmudgeon”, indeed. But I am old enough and (I feel) wise enough to think with my brain as well as feel with my heart. (As a computer engineer you should understand that.)
Mike the curmudgeon
Honestly, I’m not sure how to respond. It saddens me that you’re willing to put so much energy into pointing out a relatively minor (and still debatable) perceived flaw. As the instructions immediately prior to the comment form state: “There’s simply no need to find fault here – there are plenty of places on the internet for those discussions if you really feel the need to go negative.”
I, too, am old enough … old enough to realize that we, as a species, need to think more frequently with our heart and perhaps let our brains not find fault quite so often, particularly when it’s ultimately unimportant.
Wow a lot of discussion on this story. I thought the comment about the make of the bike curious, but chalked it up to trying to add details. However that isn’t the point at all. He needed help and it found him and that is a good and positive thing!
Maybe someone will write about Rob some day–which also isn’t the point also, but he stands a way better chance than the others that did not stop and help, right?
Just trying to make the world a better place each and every day–imagine if everyone did that!