Day Forty-Five: Ten Bucks

         I was on my way back from my route for work on Monday when I saw a Jeep pulled over to the side with its emergency lights flashing.  My first thought was, I wonder if they need any help.  My second thought was, there’s nothing I can do, followed by, I have to get back to work there’s no way I can stop.  I drove away looking back in the rear view mirror feeling not so good about myself.  A couple of days later at one of my stops I noticed that one of the cars in the lot had the vanity mirror open and the lights were on.  When I went inside no one was at the counter. I dropped off what I needed to drop off and left.  I convinced myself that there was no way someone’s battery would go out just because the vanity mirror was on.  That night both incidents were on my mind and I couldn’t help wondering if everyone had made it home okay.  The more I thought about it the more annoyed and ashamed I became.  Here I had two opportunities to help people and I choose to take the easy route.  I stayed wrapped up in my little world and choose to ignore people around me in need.  I felt disgusted with myself.  Here I am hoping for a better world, for people to open up and be more loving, to open people’s hearts through my writing and I’m not doing those things myself.  I’m not saying I expect myself to be perfect or put myself in a dangerous situation, but it wouldn’t have been hard or taken that long for me to wait for someone to come to the counter in the second instance and alerted them to the light being on. 

            Friday I was given another opportunity.  I was on my route for work once again and I had to stop at Wal-Mart.  As I drove up I saw a car pulled to one side in the back of the parking lot with a cardboard sign strung on the back.  As I drove by I only caught a couple of words from the sign, something about a family and not a scam.  A bell went off in my head, the same one that had gone off for the two previous incidents.  I didn’t have time to stop and find out though; I had to get my shopping done for work and get back.  I went in and was finished quite quickly despite long lines.  When I came out in the parking lot I could still see the car tucked back in the corner.  I decided to drive past again and take a closer look. 

            The sign looked like it had been put together with whatever the person in the vehicle had at the moment and this is what it said, “Family of three needs your help.  Tried everything, do not have money to pay electric bill, please help.  Not druggies, not alcoholics, just need help.  Not a scam.”  I pulled over and pulled a ten out of my pocket.  It wouldn’t pay their electric bill, but it might get them some food or maybe some gas.  I walked up to the car, a woman was sitting inside.  She was dressed in multiple layers against the cold.  She cracked her door when she saw me walk up and later I would think about the look on her face and realize she might have thought I was coming to tell her to get out of the lot.  She looked scared and cold.  I handed her my ten dollars and her nearly burst into tears.  That reaction almost caused me to burst into tears.  “Bless you,” she said.  All I could say was have a good day, like a moron, but I didn’t know what else to say.  As I drove off I looked at my temperature gage in my Jeep, it was 33 degrees.  It’s true I could have been scammed out of my ten dollars.  Maybe she was going to get drugs or booze or pay some random bad debt, or maybe she was a desperate mother, I’ll never know.  I do know that I felt that I did the right thing.  I reached in and reached out and touched a human heart.