People have been so nice to me today. My car died on me on my way home from school earlier this afternoon. I had just gassed it up. After I gassed it up, I stopped in at McDonald's in the same area to get myself something to drink. I was debating over what to get to keep me until I got home. I considered getting a smoothie, but I saw the sweet tea was only a dollar. I think my dad's frugal nature makes me choose the cheapest options whenever possible. That same nature usually makes me opt out of getting anything and just driving home. Yet, my intuition said to park and pick up a drink after fueling up my car. So I listened and strangely enough, I ended up having that nice tea to drink while waiting to be rescued.
In any case, I turned into the left lane and didn't get very far before my car died. Coincidentally, a girl I knew with some kids in a stroller happened upon the median where I was stranded. We had a short conversation and she asked me about the recent Magic convention that I had just worked at last week. Luckily, a chivalrous man offered to push my car into the residential area that happened to be right next to where I broke down. He even helped me turn the steering wheel before pushing the car across the three lanes of traffic into the residential area. There had been a child in his car when he stopped to help me. That child helped him push the car as well. Once it was in the residential area, I yelled, "Thank you" and coasted on the slant of the road in the residential area to get farther into the area. Thank you, Gravity.
Then, I parked my car, put on my flashers, raised the car hood, and sat on the sidewalk in the shade drinking a bottle of water I had grabbed earlier from campus on a whim that "it is always good to have water in the desert just in case" and also drinking my McDonald's sweet tea I had literally just purchased before having my car break down. While sitting there, an older man offered to call his mechanic if I ended up waiting there too long. A younger man came out of his apartment and offered me a bottle of water. Since I had one already, I turned down the water he offered and thanked him for his kindness. Three other men offered me their assistance, but I assured them that my father was on his way. I waited for my dad to arrive. When he got there, I explained what the gauges did and how the car made a noise before it died (last words if you will). He looked under the hood, had me try to start it, and then took me home.
We went back later to fetch the car. I helped him push the car to face in the other direction while Mom steered it while in neutral. Then, my dad hooked up the tow rope connecting my car to his van. He steered and did the brakes in my car while my mom drove the van to tow the car home. It's fortunate that they are professionals at this sort of thing. I'm glad that I could assist in the operation even a little bit. I'm used to helping when pushing cars home without tow ropes and with other cars. This was an interesting experience. I was surprised that the operation went so smoothly. Roping cars together seems old-fashioned to me, but it works. That is a testament to the talents of my parents.
I'm relieved that the car is back home. In the end, I'm really happy that so many kind strangers were willing to help me. I didn't even look skanky or anything. In fact, I was very conservatively attired for such a hot day. Perhaps there is hope for the world if there are still nice people out there.
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