The kindness of strangers

I drove to Cocoa today to run some errands. Cocoa sounds exotic, like there’d be chocolate and palm trees and white sand. Nah, it’s just another scrubby neighborhood in Brevard County.

Anyway, I eventually park and exit my vehicle, only to realize that the used bookstore doesn’t buy books, they only trade, and I wanted some dough. So, planning a trip over the bride to Merritt Island (another exotic sounding locale, but yet another scrubby town in north Brevard), I inserted my key into the ignition.

Whir, whir, click.

That didn’t sound promising. I tried again.

Whir, whir, pop! That was my trunk opening. Yeah, that doesn’t help me get anywhere.

Hey, it could need gas. Even though the tank gauge read there was ample enough gas. Filled my 2-gallon emergency fuel storage unit at a nearby gas station (actually, a semi-homeless looking man kindly did that for me and carried it back to my car.)

Whir, whir, click. Pop! There went the trunk again.

Get out of my car. Traisped next door.

“Got any jumper cables?”

“No, try across the street,” the woman answered without even looking.

Across the street: “Nah, just took them out of my truck.”

Yeah, not helpful.

“Try over at Autozone,” he said. “It’s right where you see that American flag, across the railroad tracks. Not sure if I’d walk it, though.”

I’m a  walker, it was cool out, so I saw no problem with this.

(In between all this, I frantically called my father to calm my nerves).

I went over to the Autozone, where they hooked me up with jumper cables. Actually, I paid them $15 for the honor of letting me walk out the door with them.

Immediately after leaving the store, two African-American gentlement in a van offered me a ride. Since one had a cane, I figured them to be harmless.

“You’re not going to kidnap me, are you?” I asked, half-joking.

“Nah. I’m a God-fearing man,” he said.

Good to know.

They drove me over to my car, where the one with the cane promptly announced that I needed water in my battery as the acid was low. As he poured water in, the other pulled up next to my car and hooked up my newly-purchased jumper cables, and jumped my car.

I turned the ignition, and my engine whirred to life immediately. The best it’s sounded all week.

In all, the entire operation cost me $15, a nice walk on a nice day, and about three hours of my time total.

Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. Otherwise, I could still be stranded in Cocoa right now, instead of hurrying this post to get to work.

Advertisement