I had taken my sons to a movie in a part of town I didn’t know.
I tried following directions from my GPS to get home, but the boys were chattering excitedly after the film, and I got lost in the conversation—and on the road.
Realizing my mistake, I took the next freeway onramp, only to find myself heading directly for the toll plaza.
I have a special toll tag, something that lets me breeze through on special lanes, but those lanes were on the opposite side of a concrete divider and I was ... well ... stuck.
Stuck in a lane which required change.
Stuck with a wallet empty of sufficient payment.
Stuck behind a gate that simply would not open, and stuck with no one to give me assistance, or with whom to plead my case.
It was nearly 10 p.m., it was very dark, and I was desperate.
I threw some found change into the metal bowl, hoping it would do the trick.
I scanned the ground, trying to spot change that may have fallen from someone else’s passing hand.
Still the gate did not move, still the minutes crept by, still my panic climbed as I wondered what I would do.
I had inched forward, wondering if the gate was on a sensor track and would open if I got close enough. This was just enough room for you to pull up closer behind me.
My older son and I started frantically tearing apart the front seats of my car, looking for any money we could find.
That’s when I heard you honk. At first I expected it was because you were upset; you had every right to be, given the minutes I was stealing from your day.
But when I looked up and saw the gate begin to rise, I knew the honk was to let me know that I could go. You paid the remainder of my toll for me. You saved me from my panic and confusion and dread.
Heaven knows if you were cursing me under your breath as you did it, but I don’t really care. You taught me a lesson that night.
Sometimes people are frustrating. They make choices we don’t understand, or make foolish mistakes, and sometimes we are affected by their actions. And often we lose patience and either turn away or make a fuss. But you did what you could and helped me out of a fix, and for that I am extremely grateful.
Next time someone does something I find baffling, I will exercise a little more patience and—if I can—give them the kind of help you gave me. We don’t always know the full story behind what’s happening with another, but we’re always in a position to be a better, kinder neighbor.
