Tire Angel Stranger

Before I dive into my story, I want to give a shout out to my FIVE followers!
You are my favorite, and I will call you my special cinco. I feel like a grandma joining facebook, but you make me feel good about venturing into this unknown worlds. So thank you.

Now back to what this post is really about...
About a week ago I left my driveway and headed for my mom's house in my 2005 Cobalt. I was going to relieve her of grandma duty by watching my niece and nephew until my sister got done with her doctor appointment (not important information, just thought you might be wondering). About 5 blocks from home I heard repetitious clunking coming from the forward right side of my car. I drove another couple blocks and after realizing it was unfortunately probably not a tire ice booger that would take care of itself, I pulled into Nye's parking lot to have a look. If you don't know what Nye's is, google it. If you do, you probably know this is going to be an interesting story simply based on the location of it.

I get out of my car, walk around to the passenger side - and sure enough, my tire is flatter than Debra Messing. A little shocked, I stand there a minute wondering if I should call my husband to rescue me, try driving it to the nearest gas station to fill the tire up, or head into Nye's for a Nordeaster (NOT something I would attempt to drive after drinking). 

Just then I hear my logic speaking to me: "Looks like you've been driving on the rim." And I think, self, you're right - probably not a good idea to try to make it to a gas station. So will I call Aaron or have the Nordeaster.... Then I realize, wait a minute, my logic voice isn't scruffy, low and a little hoarse. And it also doesn't usually come from a distance. I look up and walking towards me is a man. He was coming from the opposite end of the parking lot. He asks if I am going to try and drive it to the nearest gas station, and then lets me know that the nearest gas station does not have air at it - but I would have to drive much further for a station with air. How good to know! He asks if I have a spare in my trunk, because he does not have to be at work for another 2 hours and he would be happy to help change it. Wow. Guardian angel.

So this man is helping me get my spare tire, jack and other necessary tools out of my trunk and tells me, "Yeah I was just over at Our Lady of Lourdes..." Coming from church - yep he is clearly a guardian angel. "Oh! How nice," I respond with, feeling confident that I have done something very right in life if there is an angel helping me put my spare tire on. 

Then he continues with, "I went there to pray. I'm at a tough spot in life right now. The other day I came home from work and the ol' lady and the kids are home and there are dirty dishes in the sink. And that's just the kind of thing that really pisses me off, you know? I mean I come home from work and I want to spend some quality time with the ol' lady but I have to do dishes, so I get mad! 

So I'm standing there doing the dishes and my wife comes over and stabs me with a scissors."

.....

Not a guardian angel. 

I don't think I said anything for the next 10 minutes as my good samaritan tire angel tells me that after he called the cops he and his wife were arrested, and his wife now has a felony and will not let him back into their house. 

Now if this was someone I had met more than six minutes earlier I may have had a word or two of wisdom to mutter, but it wasn't - and I didn't. I didn't even know his name for Pete's sake. I didn't know if it was a joke and i was supposed to laugh or if this man was really, seriously unloading this onto me. Eventually I peeped, "Wow... I am so sorry." He went on to ask about my marriage - How long have we been married? Do we have kids? Do we fight a lot? To which my response was, "Well, we do fight, but not too bad, you know..." I hoped he didn't mentally fill in the rest with what I was thinking: "we don't stab each other or anything."

I was praying 2 things throughout our interaction. That words of comfort and wisdom would come to me to share with him. And that I would not forget any of the things he was saying, because I could hardly believe them at the time myself and how would anybody else believe this story if I didn't recite it perfectly.

After a short while, I realized that this man was lonely and hurting severely. He was just beginning (or perhaps maybe even little further along than I realized) a very long road of life-changing pain, confusion and hard decisions - but then hopefully of healing and reconciliation. Thankfully soon Aaron called and although I did not say, "get here now I'm scared and you need to help me and this man" with my words, I ESPed it the 7 blocks to where he was and he showed up within minutes. 

Soon my spare was on and we were all awkwardly smiling at each other and shaking hands and we thanked and wished the helpful angel stranger well.

I was soon back on the road to mom's, and what a way to get in a babysitting mood that was. Soon after I left, it hit me how interesting life is. How often do I go through my days and weeks and months even - and don't realize the conditions of people around me? I thought tire angel stranger man was put specifically there at that time and place to help me and my flat tire situation. If he hadn't opened up and told me lots of personal information all of a sudden, I probably would not have asked where he was coming from or where he was going or what was going on in his life. Honestly, we were strangers and I didn't want to come across as nosey.
But I care. I care that people are lonely, and that they are sick, and that they hurt. We are all those things at least some of the time. But if I don't invest in them, how will they know?

I don't know how to even end this post. I guess with a challenge for myself, and for you if you want to be challenged... To leave behind your social fears when it comes to people. I'm not saying to go over to a group of gang bangers in a dark alley and ask who needs a hug. That would just be poor judgement.
But be open to people and their well (and not-so-well) being. If we aren't here for each other, what are we here for? To work for money? So we can buy more things for ourselves? Some seem to think so, but something tells me not.
Something tells me I am here for people who need my arms to hug them and for me to tell them life isn't fair but it will be okay, and I'm here for my family and for strangers and for tire angel stranger man and for you.