Thursday, March 28, 2024

Thankful for the kindness of multiple strangers

Last Thursday, my husband and I were at the Billings Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinic. When we left the appointment, the temperature was over 100 degrees, and our vehicle failed to start.
The Clinic office called Security, and a driver tried several times to jump start our vehicle. The engine just couldn’t get enough charge to start. As we pondered our fate, someone else in a large truck offered to jump start the car.
It worked, but as my husband pulled forward to retrieve me from my shady refuge, the car stalled blocking three handicap parking places. Amazingly, we got another unsolicited offer for a jump start. After another failure, the plan was to replace the battery by calling a cab and purchasing one at Costco.
As we waited for the cab, another person emerged from the Clinic and offered to help. We explained our plan, and she offered to drive us to Costco! We took her kind offer, and during the ride, we got to know a little bit about our driver.
Her name was Lisa, and she shared pictures of her two dogs, stories of a recent high school reunion, and outdoor experiences in our area of the Stillwater Valley. Lisa declined my invitation of pizza at Costco, so I entered the store while she dropped my husband at the garage.
Again, she waited while he purchased a new battery and borrowed tools from the Costco garage (another example of generosity).
Lisa then drove my husband back to the Clinic and waited to see if the replacement was successful. It was, and when my husband asked how he could thank her, she refused any compensation. He told her that she had done enough good deeds for many days. Lisa’s response was simple: “That is what my momma taught me to do.”
We safely returned to Nye with a carload of groceries, but we will never forget the many kind people we encountered that day. What a wonderful example they set for us. And Lisa from Billings, please thank your mother for us, too!

Barbara Lischer
Nye