When I was a kid, everything was so much simpler. It seemed like there weren’t as many gray areas. One of the things I remembered doing often was helping other people. I remembered quite a few times that I had dropped a few dollars in someone’s cup on the street or even helped someone wandering a parking lot looking for money for gas.
It’s weird though, in this day in age. There’s this strange thought that has become more and more prevalent and has made many people wonder when they get approached in a parking lot. Am I being scammed? Is this person going to go to the next person and ask for the same thing?
I’ve heard of stories from those that are older than I am that people used to give hitchhikers rides. I think the chances of many people doing that today are pretty slim to none. I think it has to do with the cultural shift that has happened in our society. We’ve all become super aware that bad things could happen and now that has changed our minds on how to help people
Well fast forward to today. I was sitting in a Walmart parking lot before the big snowstorm was supposed to hit. I needed to get some envelopes for an Etsy order and I had stopped by the Wendy’s that was right next to Walmart first. Sometimes I just enjoy taking a moment to myself and eating a quick bite in the car. Anyway, as I was sitting in the parking lot, I got a knock on my car door (don’t worry by default I lock it). I rolled down my windows and there was a gentleman who proceeded to tell me a story about how he was trying to get his car towed to his home in Walkerton. He had been visiting his brother in Elkhart and was driving back when his car had broken down. He had $100 on him but needed about $20 to fully have enough for the tow.
Now I had a decision to make because I’ve had conversations with people before and I’d like to think I have a good read on people. There was something that was telling me that today was the day I needed to help this guy out. The first thought that came quickly to my mind was – could his family help him out? He had mentioned that he was bringing gifts to his brother’s family so maybe that family didn’t have a lot of money. The second thought that came to my mind was – is he trying to get me out of my car to somehow carjack me? That one didn’t make a lot of sense because we were in a Walmart parking lot with a lot of people around.
I decided that I should help out. I told the guy (I think his name was Marty, he definitely told me his name but I have a short memory sometimes) that I need to buy something and pull some cash out. So he came with me and I went and bought a snickers and gave him the $20 that he needed. He offered to come back next week to the Walmart to pay me back and I told him – it’s all good and that I hope it would help him out. He then told me that every Wednesday afternoon – he’s at the South Bend Chocolate factory and has coffee with a group of his veteran friends and if I was ever over there in the afternoon – he would love to buy me a coffee. I thanked him and wished him good luck.
I would like to think that in this particular case, it wasn’t a scam. I wasn’t getting the vibes that it was and something compelled me to step in and help. In my younger years – there would be no hesitation to jump in and help in situations like this. I think that life events and just our financial situation has limited my ability to really help people out. Honestly, money is still tight for us right now and I’ll have to figure out how to make up that $20 but I would like to think that someone needed that $20 more than I did.
I’m not writing this to convince anyone to do anything. I probably will be told that this was a scam. I probably will be told I was foolish. But honestly, deep down inside of me, I still want to believe in humanity and helping your fellow humans out. We’re called to do good in the world and sometimes I need a reminder like this to look for opportunities to do that.