Unknown Hero

In 1982, I was twenty-two years old and driving by myself from Texas to Virginia; it was summer and my 12-year-old car was starting to overheat. In Tennessee, the temperature indicator was buried in the red zone...I knew I was in trouble. Luckily, I was on the top of a hill and drifted/rolled down into a small village down from the exit off route 81. I stopped there and thought, "wow, what am I going to do now?" It was 11 pm, dark, and I was worried.

Right when I was starting to panic, a pickup truck pulled up and the driver asked what the problem was. I told him what had happened and he said, "hop in, my brother owns a parts store. All you need is a new radiator cap. I'll get him to open the store for you".

I argued, "no, its too late, he's probably sleeping and I don't want to wake him up for a stranger in need of a car part."

The man said, "come on, he won't mind." His brother, who had been sleeping, immediately hopped out of bed, got in the truck with us, opened the store, and found the part for me. He actually GAVE it to me, wouldn't accept payment, and sent me back to my car with his brother.

I tried to pay them for their help and they just said, "that's OK--glad we could help! Maybe you can help someone else someday.' I'll never forget those words. These two men are "everyday heroes."

Submitted by Anonymous

Caring