Thursday, July 15, 2010

Almost Heroic

As I was driving this afternoon I came upon a tree down partway across the road. It was lying on some electrical wires, and the road was impassible. There was one car ahead of me, stopped with the flashers going. I assumed that the driver in the car was reporting it to “the authorities.” I started to back up to turn around, and thought perhaps I should make sure everything was ok with whomever was in that car. Maybe they aren’t calling it in and I need to. Maybe they were actually hurt when the tree fell.

It would make for a much more interesting blog entry if I were to say at this point, the driver was injured so I performed CPR as I called an ambulance. Then, as sparks were flying from the wires, I cleared the tree from the road to prevent further injury to the next unsuspecting driver. However, when I walked up to the car ahead of me, the driver rolled down his window and smiled as he was on the phone, nodding affirmative when I asked if he was ok and if he was reporting the road blockage.

It was not an act of heroism to be sure, but I resisted the urge to drive away before assuring that all was well, and that’s got to count for something.

2 comments:

  1. In the spirit of being aware, thoughtful about one's actions and how one's own actions impact those in one's midst, I certainly think this is an important entry. It is easier to insulate and take care of oneself or one's own than to extend that consideration even just a little. It is easier to back up and assume the car's driver ahead was taking care of everything. In some ways I think this checking in you did is more profound than it may seem. Own this act as a CERTAIN Kindness!

    SS

    ReplyDelete