Post
by alas » Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:05 pm
While I agree with you cynics that most people aren’t doing the best they can to be kind and caring for others, I choose not to. This is one of those cases where people can choose what they want to believe. I know that the majority of people will screw you if they think they can get away with it. I sure have experienced people who are not doing the best they can, as parents, as fellow employees, as President. I still want to believe the best of people. So I try to ignore the screw heads and see the good side of people. Yeah, sometimes it is pretty hard to ignore the narcissistic jerk in the White House who doesn’t give a shit if he infects people, but I still want to look for the good in people.
For example, we were triple hauling, travel trailer and ATV trailer and had to pull the whole train into a small town service(less) station for gas....in all three, the truck needed diesel, the travel trailer needed ethanol free, and the ATV needed filling. That over $100, and you would think the service station might offer you know, service. Nope. We had already rejected four service stations as too difficult to get in and out of. So as a last resort, he pulls in To this one. And the diesel hose is too short, Way short, so he backs closer to the pump. And gets too close with the travel trailer to the stuff on the other side. He can’t back out and he can’t pull forward without creaming something. The jerk inside the building just smirked, like “hit something and I’ll sue“ so DH wants me to watch 4 sides of three vehicles and tell him which way to turn the wheels and whether to try forward or back. Uh huh, I am real experienced pulling a train and know exactly which way his wheels need to be to turn the back end of the train away from the gas pump. Not! And this little 4’9” Mexican with three missing teeth and a thick accent takes over, telling DH which way to turn the wheels, how far to back, then which way to turn the wheels and how far to go forward. The guy spends 15 minutes helping DH get the rig out of the serviceless station without hitting anything, while the idiot who worked there watched from inside and smirked, while we blocked three lanes with our train. DH tries to hand the guy a twenty for his help and he grins real big and in his broken English, says, “Nope. Someday, I get in jam and somebody help me.” Now life obviously hadn’t been that good to this guy with his worn out work clothes, his old pickup, and his missing teeth, but he was still willing to help a stranger who did something stupid by pulling into a service station he can’t safely get out of.
See, for every jerk, there is a guy willing to help, even when it takes time out of his day and he doesn’t expect anything except for someday, someone to show him kindness in return. That is how I choose to view people because I would rather be like that than like the smirking guy inside.