Faith in humanity slightly restored

[Spudz27]

So car broke down at servo, had kids with me. I was blocking the servo exit, so I pushed the car out while also steering it into a parking bay on side of road which was slightly uphill. I was doing a pretty good job of it, but a random guy walking past jumped on the back and helped.

Then whilst the tow truck was getting the car we began walking to the mechanic (only 2km away) as we walked past the bank the door burst open and a lady was almost insistant she give us a lift home. I said no but thankyou, we walked to mechanic, then the extra km or so to my work to get the work van. Was nice that random people were still so willing to offer help to complete strangers.

[uniacidz]

Dunno where you are but doesn't happen where I live







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[beardo]

I try to help out where i can with that sort of thing. i know one day I'll need help and i like to think someone might help me out

[nuthin' fancy]

A few years ago my EL monty failed to proceed at a major roundabout in Tarneit.

As I am on the phone to RACV a Hyundai Excel fulls of islanders stops, they all get out and advance toward me.

"Need a push, bro?"

Car was visible and traffic was slow so i said no. In the hour I waited for the RACV at least 10 people stopped to ask if I wanted help, one woman stopped and gave me a bottle of water. She said "I had seen you standing there so I went to the servo and got you a drink".

My faith restored too.

[snopony]

I had a similar experience over ten years ago in Sydney. I was driving home in a mustang in peak hour on a friday evening the car decided to loose electrics so i went to pull over at a servo just on dark when the accelerator cable snapped as well. I was stuck on the corner of a servo in south sydney waiting for a tow truck as there was no way I was leaving a Mach 1 overnight on the main drag. Two guys approached and I though bloody hell here we go, as I was in my twentys. They explained they saw the car stop and if i didnt mind they would wait with me as they knew the area wasnt a good place for a girl to be stuck by herself. And they were right. They stayed the two hours it took the truck to arrive. They were a lot younger than me, kinda skinny surfer type dudes, but I was grateful for what they did. wish more boys were raised this way.

[poppa smurf]

one sticks with me in a large shopping centre.....a lady with a couple of littleys had a trolley full of necessary items, not one thing non essential, nappy's, baby formula, shampoo that sort of thing.

her turn came up but when she went to pay she found her card didn't work and had no cash, the amount was around $60 or $80 .....I went to step forward to pay for her but was beaten and basically shoved aside by no less than 4 scruffy looking ferals that I wouldn't give the time of day to.

I said to them, "well done, good to see"......their answer was "might be my missus one day.....pay it forward".

a damn good thing to strive for.

I looked around to see at least half the line up was dishing into their purse in an effort to help

I always look for the good side of people before passing judgement, I am seldom let down.

[.:4:.]

No longer the 5 minutes after I began towing my boat home after getting the trailer blue slipped, the trailer shot the valve when putting air in one tyre. The car and trailer were blocking the whole servo, so I decided to drag it to the next side street. No one would let me out until I nosed out then a tatted up bloke on the second loudest Harley in the universe stopped the traffic, what a champ. Limped the thing 50m to the side street with a now well stuffed tyre... once that was off, took back to the guy who did the blue slip for just anything to get it home, offered to pay. He didn't have a 14 inch lt, but threw on a tyre from the pile. I again offered to pay, nothing. Long story short got it home ok, and the mechanic got a case of beer on monday for the effort.

[George V]

Similar experience, only last year in Western Sydney.

Falcon engine made funny noises and died while trying to get out of a servo into Gt Western Hwy around 7pm. While trying to crank it and get it going some miss fire. Two stocky East European blokes got out of their car from opposite side came around, advised me that I am better off getting it towed at that time and help me push it to a side street.

[snopony]

Originally Posted by George V

Similar experience, only last year in Western Sydney.

Falcon engine made funny noises and died while trying to get out of a servo into Gt Western Hwy around 7pm. While trying to crank it and get it going some miss fire. Two stocky East European blokes got out of their car from opposite side came around, advised me that I am better off getting it towed at that time and help me push it to a side street.

Yes cars seem to pick *the best* times to have an issue. Mine was on the grand parade Brighton Le sands.

[Big_Daz]

The way I see it, costs nothing to be nice and If I see someone in a pickle and I can help, I usually will.... I've been helped out in the past by good Samaritans in my car/etc so, as they say, "Pay it forward"

Its the way I was bought up....

[Boosted8]

When I was about 18 my VS Commodore fell asleep about 50km from home.

I was only on the side of the road for a few minutes when another VS Commy pulled up. The car had a very loud exhaust, ill-fitting bodykit, mismatched rims and different colour panels. It was full of some questionable looking blokes but they all hopped out and helped me push my car into a nearby gravel car park. From memory it was a minor fault but I don't remember exactly what.

Anyway, never judge a book by it's cover.

[MercurySilver]

then you get the odd people that look at you when you offer help like you are the hunch back of notre dame and say no thanks as they reach for their mobile

maybe i should get a haircut

[Spudz27]

Lots of good stories. I pit it down to getting some good karma back. Not long ago we were driving and there was an bloke sprawled out on the path, asked my mrs if that was really what I saw (night time) ahe said pretty sure it was. I went up to the roundabout (bout 400m away) went round, came back and checked on him. He looked like he been hit by a car, He was unconcious etc. In the time it took me to turn round and go back, assessed his condition, called an ambo and waited, not one car stopped. Now he was indigenous and he was just passed out drunk, but that is no reason to not stop and until you do, your not to know he is just ****ed. A very nice aboriginal couple on their way to dinner did stop, said she knew him and thanked me for having the decency to check on him and call assistance. I won't lie here, I tend to judge aboriginal people like most of us do and the ones in town alot of them deserve said judgement. But that won't stop me being a decent human and rendering assistance. I even had my kids in the car, I told them you never just leave someone that looks to need assistance.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Till you hear about the 2 coppers that got reprimanded for changing a tyre for a motorist. how did they get done? The lady sent in a thank you letter to their boss...

Try and help people whenever you can. Simple. Went to the M5 toll office last week to hand in a tag and walking back to the car an old lady in a Mondeo called me over and was totally confused. She was trying to get to the Bankstown area and had no idea where she was. I saw the navigator and told her I could program it for her only to be told that a few weeks ago she pulled it out of the ciggy lighter by accident and lost the charging plug on the floor.

Told her to pull off the road (she was till stopped in the middle of the exit lane) and took out my torch and spent a few minutes looking for the plug. Sure enough it had nicely wedged itself between the seat and the buckle stalk.

Got it plugged in and on her way.

While I was in the office the guy next to me asked if they had a jumper pack as he had a flat. Didn't pay attention as I was handing in the tag at the same time.

Walking back to the car I saw the guy waiting with his bonnet up - was a falcon ute so asked him if he needed a jump (was the only time in years I had a set of leads in the car) and got him on his way in no time as well.

[mik]

indeed it feels good to help someone out , i had a really good one done for me many years ago , i was not long with a licence and a budding mechanic , i was in my mums little mini that had just been repainted /retrimmed refurbished by my then step father , as it turns out the mini had a very old fuel line running to the SU and it had been leaking slightly unbeknown to us , on those early minis the fuel bowl sat above the exhaust,
i had just gone into spare parts to get some bits and i came back out to the car and noticed a bit steam coming out from under the bonnet,
i just naturally thought mini + loss of coolant/blown hose = overheating , i flipped the bonnet which then gave the hot fuel a nice rush of oxygen .....woof , up it went....... nice big flames , my mate and i belting the flames with clothes off our back we had no chance of putting it out.
a bloke in a beat up old combi van pulled up in the middle of the road , jumped out with a fire extinguisher and had it out in about 5 seconds ,
i thanked him profusely , i couldnt even offer him any money as i had none left , he said thats ok , happy to have helped and took off in his combi without even giving me his name.
Humans can be so good .

[Ratmick]

It normally averages itself out over a lifetime I find.

I was in the Army years ago, it was quite common pre-mobile phone to help other people on the side of the road. Helped a mum (and her gorgeous daughter) with a broken battery cable one day, their positive cable had snapped off. Drove to a garage, bought a new one, fitted it for them, away they went (should have grabbed the daughter's number, might have saved me some issues later).

I was driving home from my then-girlfriend's house at 2am one morning when I spotted a guy trying to push his car uphill on the other side of Old Geelong Road. Did a big circle, and came back. Flat battery and neither of us had jumper cables. I had tools though, took his battery out, put my battery in, started his car, swapped batteries back (while it was running, not recommended but what do you do at 2am?). Put my battery back in, shook hands and we both went on our way.

I broke down on the side of the Princes Freeway on a Friday arvo on the way down to Warrnambool to see my then-fiancée (now Ex ). Stopped for a slash (yes classy but this was years ago, I'd driven from Puckapunyal and this was before the roadhouses, before mobile phones PLUS I picked an area there were still trees). Did my business, car dead, battery cacti. Popped the bonnet, nada. Tried push starting it myself, which was a stretch on a slight uphill (and it was a VH Commodore). The only way I could get enough momentum was to push it off the side of the freeway and down a light embankment. Didn't work and I was stuck nose-down on the side of the freeway with the bonnet open. Sat there wondering wtf to do next when a guy in a ute pulls up, hooks me up with jumper leads and sends me on my way. No idea who he was but good on him.

VW Combi full of girls trying to do a u-turn across the median of the Hume and got stuck on a rock. We (car full of five Army guys) go out and basically lifted it off the rock. They were doing some sort of charity cruise around Australia from the UK, nice girls, we all got a t-shirt each

Driving up to Wodonga in my boss' car years back when mobiles were rare and came with an external battery pack. Came across a lady on the side of the road with a dead car. Stopped and let her use my boss' mobile to call her son. Didn't cost me anything

Driving back recently from Cobram with my partner, two old ladies stuck on the road from Shepparton to Melbourne with a flat. One of them was walking the 2km back to the nearest emergency phone. Same thing, did the big circle, picked up the walking lady, took her back to her car. Changed her tyre and away they went.

These sort of things don't cost anything, just some time, and it makes someone else's life just a bit easier.

[AD07]

I helped an elderly gent a few years back...I was on the way home from Saturday morning golf (probably another ordinary round) and I noticed this bloke had come to a stop on his mobility scooter in the middle of the footpath going up a hill. I approached the next round about & just knew I would be thinking about it all day if I didn't turn around & see if I could help....
I pull over and ask if he's ok & needs a hand..... The scooter wouldn't go, the battery was dead. I asked him where he lived & he was a bit vague, and said just up the hill and around the next corner.....
I tried to get the cart to free wheel (he stated they should) but the hubs wouldn't disengage & it was a struggle to push the cart 20m. He could tell it was going to take a bit to push home so he said to just leave it in the front of a yard of a nearby house & he will get his son to eventually come & pick it up.
He wanted to walk , but I said that wasn't happening & got my car & gave him a lift back to his unit that was actually about 1km away.
I waited for him to ring his son, who was then on his way , checked that all was well and then made my way home.
I got a thank-you , a handshake and a glass of water....and that was all I needed.

[Boosted8]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

These sort of things don't cost anything, just some time, and it makes someone else's life just a bit easier.

Beyond that, I've also found that it adds some more colour to my life when I share in the experiences of others.

[Ratmick]

I did my back slightly a few weekends back when helping my eldest move some furniture. Didn't seem to be spinal as it was way off to one side, so I'm presuming a pinched nerve.

Last week I was walking up Bourke Street in Melbourne and near the corner of King Street there was a motorbike lying on its side. I'm a motorcyclist and don't like to see that sort of thing so I tried getting it back upright. Normally there's a metal piece of frame below the seat you can pull on and using the wheels as a fulcrum you can get them up pretty easily (more so when you're the one that's fallen off and adrenalin has kicked in ).

Alas even though it was a LAMS-spec Honda couldn't shift the thing, still feel...guilty. It was up that afternoon, but that's not really the point...

A few years back I had a ZZR-600 and had ridden it to work, parking on the footpath out the front. About 11:30am my mobile rings, it's a parking inspector, my bike has a leak and it's dripping oil. I'm not sure how they got my number, but I'm guessing my rego gave them a name and the concierge in the building did a match (I have an unusual surname from a small part of England) and gave her my number. I went down and she'd gone, but she was right...my bike DID have a leak from the water-pump housing...and they'd put some sand underneath it in a little mound to catch it and a note saying they hoped it was ok

Stupidly I rode it home (the oil went all over the back wheel when riding, made it a bit squirrelly) and found the bearing inside the pump had disintegrated taking out the seal.

Two things surprising here. One is that a parking inspector took the time to look at my bike at all and secondly they did something about it.

I wrote her a nice email thanking her, kudos to her.

[railtrolley]

Just spotted this thread. About 2 weeks ago I was in Lawnton, north suburb of Brisbane, loading my Falcon with some freight, and I noticed a young mother and toddler in a Corolla in the carpark of the shop next door. Bonnet up. Asked if I could help as I would never leave a young mother stranded with a breakdown if I can. I always carry tools and jump leads. Discovered both battery terminals were slightly loose. Negative had the usual powder corrosion on it, with I cleaned off. Tightened the terminals, and jump started her, and she was on her way again.

It's a good feeling helping others.

[kenify]

It does give you a warm feeling, and I believe in Karma, we were on holidays in SA over the last few weeks, and had lunch in Peterborough at the visitors centre in our caravan, noticed the brand new van and big 4wd across from us with his bonnet up and the bloke scratching his head, he was on a shake down cruise with his week old combo and the battery was flat as the wiring from the van was wrong and his 12v fridge was draining his car battery. Went over with the AU wagon and jump started him in a jiffy, we caught up with each other over the next few days on our holidays and had a beer.

[Bill M]

Always a plus to help some one else out. About 6 months ago I spotted a middle aged bloke (same as me ) pushing his XF sedan which had broken down 300 m from a servo on a fairly busy road. No way could I leave him on his own so I parked the ute and gave him a push. Two other guys stopped to help also so we got to the servo in no time. He tried to shove a tenner in my hands but I refused telling him just to help some one else out.
This happens more than we think.
Bill.

[Beastie]

A few years ago, I was out on Lake Macquarie on my boat fishing when I spotted an older couple trying to start their motor on their tinny...After about 10 mins of trying and no luck, I decided to go over and ask if they were ok.

In the end we couldn't get it started, so I towed them over to the ramp.

He offered me some cash for my trouble and I just replied "no thanks, I just hope that someone would do the same for me if I was in trouble"...

Does give you a good feeling to help out when you can.

[Tui2]

I've always have given and get taken for a ride alot (people take advantage of my kindness and some abuse it) only makes me more determined to give.