Good Deed for the Day

At 10 am the place where I like to get my coffee was packed, which was hardly surprising on a beautiful Sunday morning. We had set out on our errands early, but there were still two more stops to make. After circling twice without finding parking, I dropped Heidi at the door and continued the circuit. My next trip around I saw that she had run into a former student's parent and they were deep in conversation, as they were the next time and the next time, too. I was on the back stretch of my third or fourth lap when a man on the street called through my open window. "Excuse me, ma'am? Are you looking for a parking space?" Across the way Heidi was still yakking, so I nodded. "Well," he said, "our car won't start. If you have jumper cables and you're willing to help, you can have the spot when we're through."

I assured him that I was willing to help whether I got the space or not, but he and his wife flagged off many would-be parkers as we pushed the car out, and I made a three-point turn to face it on the street. He made quick work of the jump start as his wife stood resolutely in the spot. As he wound up the cables and put them back in their bag, their six-year old daughter presented me with a micro bouquet of flowers she'd gathered from the grassy strip along the sidewalk while we worked.

Once I pulled into the space, they waved their thanks and drove away with a cheerful wave. Before I could get out, the passenger side door opened. "Let's go," Heidi said. And we did, leaving the parking space to the lucky driver that happened to come along next.