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The Beauty of Human Kindness

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Melanie Brown

Last Tuesday evening, me and a friend set off to a meeting. Just as we got onto the motorway, the car started to make strange noises.

I had absolutely no idea what was happening. Suddenly, a small white van pulled alongside me and the driver indicated that I needed to pull over.  At first I thought that he was a policeman in an unmarked vehicle, as he looked as if he was wearing one of those yellow fluorescent jackets which officers sometimes wear on the motorway.

I pulled over onto the hard shoulder feeling anxious.

I opened the car door and got out. Then I noticed the most horrendous stench. I began to worry and as I looked towards the rear of the car, realized that my rear tyre had completely shredded and the smell was burning rubber. How in the world I hadn’t I noticed?

The man who had stopped us explained that we were going nowhere. We had to sort the tyre out. He checked we were ok and offered to wait with us until roadside assistance came to the rescue.

He noticed that my friend did not have a coat. As we had originally set out, she thought that it was a warm evening and so a coat wasn’t needed. Now it was getting chilly. He walked to his van and took out his works coat and handed it to my friend.  I asked him what his name was. It was Steve. I took his number so that we could return the jacket. When this guardian angel was happy that we were fine, safe and roadside assistance was on the way, he drove off.

I was really surprised by the generosity and kindness of Steve. He was busy but still managed to stop for us. Two complete strangers. He could have quite simply have driven by.

Why am I making such a big deal about this incident? Well, there’s so much going on in this world which makes us skeptical, judgmental and even hateful with our prejudices. But Steve showed up and proved that there is still humanity in this world. We need to be kinder and more loving to each other and stop the pettiness. I think that I am going to have a bit more faith in the beauty of human kindness.

Posted in The Beauty of Kindness