The time someone stepped up to help

Here are a few stories suggesting that people are not all rotten scoundrels.

“Just a little over a year ago, a dog we had recently adopted from one of the local animal shelters snapped and viciously attacked my wife and me,” wrote Mark Majeski. “After barely restraining the dog, I managed to get across to our backyard neighbor who dropped everything, got her car, drove us to the ER and stayed with us until family arrived. Even now that she has moved on, we will always be indebted to her for what she did for us.”

Here’s one from North Idaho’s Lauren Hopkins.

“When I first moved to Coeur d’Alene, I needed to buy a piece of plywood so I went to Home Depot. When I carried the plywood to my car (a Saturn coupe), I realized it was not going to fit.

“At that very moment I heard ‘Can I help you?’ I looked to see a woman of about 40 with a little girl walking toward me. I said, ‘No, thank you. I’m going to have to come back with a truck.’

“She said, ‘I have a truck, I can deliver it a little later. Just give me your address.’

“I was dumbstruck. Was this a scam? But who would want to steal a piece of plywood?

“I went home and scrambled in my garden for a small bouquet to give her. She showed up with the plywood!

“At the time, our cat, Skye was a kitten. The little girl was captivated. I made a friend that day.”

Here’s one from a reader in Pullman.

“When I was going to college in Tucson, Ariz., I got very sick one day,” wrote Richard Taflinger. “I stumbled out of my apartment and croaked out a plea for help. Three young men looked over the fence between my apartment house and their home and immediately jumped it. They didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Spanish, but they could tell I was ill. Two of them half-carried me to their car and drove me to the hospital, where they sat in the waiting room for several hours so they would be there to drive me home when I was released.

“When we returned to my apartment the third brother was sitting in my living room. He didn’t know if I had my keys so he didn’t want to lock the door. So he sat there to guard my home until my return. They also spoke to my neighbor, who told me that if I needed anything during the night to just pound on our common wall and he’d be right over.

“The next day the brothers’ mother brought me lunch and dinner to make sure I ate. I soon recovered.

“I had never met, indeed never seen, that family beyond the fence, but now, more than 40 years later, I remember well their instant response to my need and their care and kindness. Now, that’s what I call ‘love thy neighbor.’”

Here’s one from 31 years ago.

“It was October 1984, pre-cellphones, the height of the Snub Anyone from Southern California era,” wrote Carla Holt. “I’d just arrived in Spokane and started my new job. Rushing after work to a haircut appointment, I got a flat on the freeway.

“A young woman from my office who distributed mail, who I’d only spoken to minimally in passing, was driving by with her boyfriend. She recognized my car, stopped, drove me to my appointment while her boyfriend changed the tire, then left the car outside the salon.

“I’ve never forgotten and been busily paying it forward and doing my best to change the minds of Spokanites about Californians ever since.”

Here’s one from a Slice reader in Sandpoint.

“Several years ago, when my husband and I lived in Seattle, we had a house fire. Due to some kind of computer glitch, the 911 message went to the wrong fire station so it was a long time before the firemen arrived. The house was completely destroyed. Everything had to be replaced except the foundation and three outside walls.

“While we stood out in the street in our bathrobes watching everything we owned go up in flames at around 4:30 a.m., two different neighbors came to us and offered us a place to live while our house was being rebuilt. I had never met either one of them. Another neighbor, whom we did know but not well, took our German shepherd to their house and took care of her for about four months while our house was being rebuilt.”

Of course, sometimes strangers step up even when it’s not a crisis. You just have to ask.

“Several years ago, my wife and I were collecting basalt columns near Elk River (Idaho) for landscaping around our place,” wrote Blake Ballard of Moscow. “After having gathered several smaller ones, we found a really nice large one. We struggled with it for awhile to load it into our pickup but weren’t able to get it in by ourselves. Just as we were about to give up, a burly fisherman came walking by. My wife suggested that I ask him to help us load it but I was reluctant to ask a stranger for help in a non-emergency situation. ‘Well, I will,’ she said. And she did.

“He, quite pleasantly, came over and loaded it into our pickup all by himself. Embarrassed? Yeah, a little. But grateful.”

One more.

“My mother passed away recently, and the family was going to gather at her home after the service,” wrote Kathy Fitchner. “The lawn badly needed mowing, and none of us had time to do it. As I was driving toward my home from my mom’s house, I noticed a young man mowing his lawn. I thought, I’m gonna give this a shot.

“I approached Sean, and told him my story, and offered him a $20 bill, if he would and could just mow the front lawn. He gladly said he could do that for me, and he refused to take my money. He asked me the address, and said he would take care of it.

“The lawn was mowed, and when I related the story to my family and friends, all (except me) were amazed. I still believe, even in this day and age, that people are basically good. If you ask for it, and they can help — they will. I love Spokane!”