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Perhaps my favorite good act to do is to help people push their car when they need it. It's dumb, really, but having grown up in the south, people are just hos
by bmelton 16y ago
Perhaps my favorite good act to do is to help people push their car when they need it. It's dumb, really, but having grown up in the south, people are just hospitable that way.
It generally doesn't take much to do, it helps traffic, and at least for me, it makes me feel good about myself. Besides, it always irks me when I see someone trying to push their car out of traffic and nobody else is helping. Especially considering the traffic implications around here, when somebody in the road makes an already bad situation worse.
I've been late because of it, but to date, I've never had anybody hold it against me that I was late because I helped somebody move a car.
- snth 16y agoOnce, my car died near an intersection; as I jumped out to push, two guys appeared out of nowhere alongside me to help push. It took about 15 seconds, and they waved off my thanks and were gone again. It was shocking how unexpectedly helpful they were... I tend to expect no help in a situation like that.
- bmelton 16y agoExactly. It's one of those things that is generally interpreted as generous. Being nice to people can often back fire; Complimenting the barista on her earrings might be seen as a come-on. Applauding someone's work ethic is often seen as sarcasm. It's not something to worry about, generally, but I've withheld a generous comment before based on how it might have been perceived. Helping somebody push a car (so long as you don't ask for payment after, or something) is hard to misinterpret, and has to completely make the recipient's day.
- vacri 16y agoI've pushed other folks' cars out of traffic or into a station before, and there's nothing like that sheepish smile you get as you wave them off and get on your way. On the other hand, I've also had a borrowed, beaten-up car break down in peak hour in the inside lane and no-one is letting me push it over two more lanes to the plentiful parking on the side. I waited for about two minutes for someone to give me a gap before I realised "hey, car is beaten-up anyway, if it gets hit, it's just another scratch". Waited for a small gap and just started pushing. Not particularly suprising that people with their nice clean paintjobs don't want to plow into a beaten car just to prove a point :)
- rikthevik 16y agoYeah, here in Saskatchewan, or in most parts of Canada, if you're stuck in the snow, people will jump to help. We all know how crappy it is to be stuck when it's really cold out. Not everyone shovels each other's sidewalks though. Depends on the neighbourhood for that.