The kindness of a "Good Samaritan"

Five years ago today, Bonnie and I were driving back from a family visit in California. We pulled off the freeway in the early evening to get gas in Mesquite, Nevada. We first noticed that the stoplights weren't working, and we soon realized that the power was off in the entire area. We drove in to a gas station, and then soon realized that we were in trouble: gas pumps don't work without electricity! Who knew?? We didn't have enough fuel to make it to St. George.
Estimates we heard were that the power would come back on in 2-4 hours. We had no choice but to just sit and wait. We stayed parked next to the gas pump, and other cars soon lined up behind us. The convenience stores were all locked up, but we had some snacks and drinks in the car to help with the wait.
Darkness came (a bit eerie without street lights). The hours creeped by. We heard that the power might take longer than expected to return - something about a lightning strike at a substation somewhere in the mountains. We considered how fun it would be to spend the night in our car.
Then a miracle happened. A "good Samaritan" drove up in a pickup truck, with a dozen 5 gallon cans of gasoline that he had brought from St George. He had heard about the situation, knew many people were stranded, so went to the Walmart and other stores to buy all the gas containers he could find. He filled them with gas and drove back to Mesquite. He could have asked almost whatever he wanted for the fuel, but only asked to be reimbursed for his cost. We got in line and purchased one of the last ones he had, poured in in our tank, and were soon back on the road! (We later read in the news that the power came back on at 6:30 a.m. the next day.)
Of course there are lessons to learn about preparedness, not letting tanks run to empty (gas as well as emotional state, etc.), having reserves or alternative plans, and so on. But for me the most important lesson is about the "good Samaritan."
I have often thought about this nameless, faceless man on that dark night. He wanted no recognition, minimal recompense. He just wanted to help people who were in need, though it was quite inconvenient for him. I thanked him as best I could at the moment, but when we pulled into our home past midnight (instead of mid-day the next day), I wanted to thank him again for having made a difference in our life! I #GiveThanks for examples like his, that inspire me to try harder, to do better.

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