It rained here today. Not that gentle quiet rain that can lull you to sleep but that soak to the bone, pound against the windows kind of downpour. I will admit that I like days like that. It’s almost like mother nature is flexing her muscles and putting on a little show for us. It was quite a show with nearly 3 inches of rain here.
Besides the rain, it was a regular old day.
I did my usual things; hit the gym and worked. As is typical for a Thursday, I picked my son up from the bowling alley, where once a week my wife imagines herself to be a highly accomplished member of the PWBA. I was driving away from the alley with my son in the backseat when the day turned from a regular, mundane kind of thing to something much different.
One lane each way, standing water, dark roads, and bad eyesight, oh my.
I have a difficult time seeing in the dark because of my terrible eyesight. Add to that a torrential downpour and sight line partially blocked by the swish swish of the wipers and you can imagine the kind of driving conditions I was facing. As I was coming up to a bend in the road a nondescript vehicle coming in the other direction was flashing his high-beams at me.
Flash, Flash, Flash. Pause. Flash, Flash, Flash. Pause.
I slowed down – way down – to about 30 MPH. I was thinking “Is there a cop ahead? Is there a marching band coming across the road?” Then I saw the dark lake up ahead that had overtaken my lane. I slowed to a crawl and proceeded with caution through the pool of standing water. I can’t tell you how many inches it was but if I had been going my original speed the end result wouldn’t have been pretty.
Random acts of unselfishness are simply AWESOME.
The person driving that vehicle didn’t have to help me. There was nothing in it for them. They simply wanted to pass it along. In the end, the reasons why don’t really matter. In a cynical world, it’s nice to see someone do something for another human being without demanding something in return. I’m not going to get a bill in the mail or a telemarketer calling my house at 6am because of it. They flashed me and then moved on.
How many unselfish things do you a day?
I vow going forward to at least do something to brighten someone’s day everyday and – get this everyone – NOT ask for something in return!
“I’ll hold the door for you.”
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
Something. Anything. I might forget that random act minutes after I do it but I bet that person I help will remember all day long. Maybe they’ll even blog about it.
The random act was faceless.
The person driving that nondescript vehicle will never know my name and I’ll never know theirs. But I appreciate them… at least for a little while. The memory of it all will fade. Maybe it’s why I type this right now; I’ll call it their memorial. Hey Mr. or Mrs. You Helped Me Out. I really appreciate you flashing me today and saving us.
Thanks to kthypryn at Flickr for the great pic!
