I was reading a friend's note on Facebook this morning - it was about a truck driver who was kind enough to give her a free ride when she got stranded in a new place. Her story brought back the memories of a day in Carlisle, PA.
It was the summer of 2005 and I was attending a tri-nation youth leadership program on the campus of Dickinson College. One evening, a group of us went out for shopping. We walked to a shopping plaza, which was about a 20-minute walk from the campus. On our way back, we got caught in the rain. I think there were four of us in the group. We were standing on the pavement, getting drenched and praying that someone would stop his car and give us a ride back. We had no umbrella or cell phone with us. We did not even know that rain was coming and all of us were in the U.S. for the first time.
As we waited, a taxi driver stopped his car in front of us, asking if we needed a ride. We were so glad that he could spot us in that heavy rain. After he dropped us off at the dorm, we asked him how much the fare was. But he refused to take any money from us. We pressed, but he refused again and left without taking any fare from us.
I don't remember his face or anything. But his gesture, I will always remember. Human kindness touches me in a way very few other things can.
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