Making a Stranger’s Day

Click here for a video clip about a passenger helping out an Uber driver in trouble. When I watched it, it reminded me of a similar experience I had several years ago.

Here’s my story…

I was getting a haircut in NYC. Through the plate-glass window of the barbershop, I could see a young Black guy pleading with a pair of cops. My barber followed my gaze.

“That’s the young man that cleans all the storefront windows in this area,” he said. “A nice kid. He works hard.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

I went outside to see what was going on. A small crowd had gathered, taking in the scene. “I think they’re impounding his car,” one of them told me.

“For what?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Sounds like he didn’t pay a bunch of tickets.”

The kid looked frantic. He was pacing back and forth. “I need my car for my work,” he said. “Please! I’m going to pay those tickets.”

“You got the money?” one of the cops asked.

“No. But I will get it,” he said. “Just don’t take the car.”

The cop began writing him up, and his partner walked back to the squad car. I went over to him and asked if they would let the kid go if I paid his tickets. He looked at me as if he thought I was crazy.

“I’m serious,” I said.

He looked through his paperwork. The total is X,” he said. X was a lot of money. More than I expected. But I happened to have almost exactly that in my pocket, because I had just come from the bank.

He pulled his partner aside, spoke to him for a few minutes, then came back to me.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked.

“I am,” I said.

He motioned for me to follow him, and we quietly made the transaction behind his car. I thought about asking for a receipt but decided against it. He walked back to his partner and whispered something to him. Then he said something to the kid, and the kid started screaming and jumping up and down. “I knew it!” he shouted. “There is a god! There is a god!”

He searched the faces in the crowd to see if he could figure out who to thank. But I was already halfway down the street. I don’t believe in a god, but that made my day.