Stories expand our views in so many ways. They can give us insight to experiences never had before. They can tell us more about the person telling them and what they took from an event. They provide another perspective to an event that we may have witnessed in a totally different way. Just this morning, while I was working out with my friends, one of them shared a story with our workout group from just the other day.
My friend was just leaving class at GCC when he heard someone behind him. There behind him stood a black man a little over six feet, probably over 200lbs, and with dreadlocks and a beard down to his chest. Needless to say my friend was a little nervous but remembered seeing the man several times before on campus. The man said that his ride was late and wondered if he could get one to 55th and Cactus. To my surprise my friend said he agreed, and I started laughing. I could only imagine my friend sitting there in the car, dead silent, with this huge guy next to him. "So... how bout this wheather?", hilarious. He said the man seemed pretty nice the whole way and kept thanking Riley for the lift. Riley said he felt pretty good about helping the guy out, even though I guess when Riley dropped him off the man tried to repay him with "some good stuff" (a bag of weed, I nearly cried I was laughing so hard), and thought he was an o.k. guy.
This reminded me of the several times I've stopped to help people with stalled vehicles in or near the road. I'm always amazed how uneasy I am when I go to help them. Obsurd ideas of them being a psycho-killer or a con-artist start going and I second guess myself. I can say without a doubt if the man had asked me for a ride I would've said no and gone straight for my Ruger as soon as I was in my truck. But Riley's story reminds me to realize all people need help. Even if they use drugs and may deal them, they aren't out to rob or hurt you. I think what Riley did not only took courage but heart, and it's that combination that is so rare and hard to have. Yet only with this kind of mindset can community service be possible.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It really does take a lot of courage to actually be willing to give a complete stranger that you know nothing about a ride in your vehicle. Although that really says a lot about your friend and how he was able to look past that and decided to lend a helping hand to someone who needed a little help. Obviously not in all situations but it most circumstances, we should hold back our intial reaction and think twice about helping someone who needs a little extra help.
ReplyDelete