Week 4: New Connections in Bad Situations

This week, I have an interesting story to share with all of you. It was just an ordinary drive in rainy Vancouver until I came across an older Asian Korean lady who’d broken down in the middle of a three-lane road near Rupert and East Broadway. With cars speeding by and a slightly lost expression on her face, I decided to pull over into a nearby parking lot and see if I could help.

Just as I walked over to her, another Good Samaritan was already there, trying to assess the situation. Upon a quick look, the car would not start, nothing seemed wrong under the hood, and the brakes seemed to have locked up (not a mechanic, but definitely not a good sign). The best course of action we decided was to push the car uphill and into the safety of a parking lot. There was no emergency lane, and with the car being at the bottom of a hill, we couldn’t turn back. It was best if we pushed her off the road entirely and into a nearby parking lot where she would be safe, not block traffic and call who she needed to.

I empathize with her situation, and with her limited English, I could tell she did not know what to do. By the time we got her in the parking lot, a third stranger had joined us in the rain, pushing this car uphill into the parking lot. Although none of us knew this lady, none of us were obligated to help her. It was pouring rain, so we got soaked, and it was uphill, which made me run slightly behind schedule. I felt it was the right thing to do. Something I took note of was that everyone involved clearly had very different backgrounds, cultures, ages, and languages, yet they all worked together for the best interest of a stranger.

I can’t say for sure why I decided to stop and help this stranger, but if my mother or sister were ever caught in such a scenario, I’d hope that someone would come to help. Today was my day to be that ‘someone.’