Road Trip grief Pay it Forward

Here's an idea of a card we could hand out. First off these images are from the HAMB and so are the logos, I dont want to offened anyone with the design, it just a quick idea.

The layout is so you could print it, then fold it over giving you a front and back then laminate it, you could print about 4 per page stacked this way.

MrC.

 

I always try to stop and help,I always return wallets or IDs because I know how much a pain in the ass is to go to the DMV in Ca.
As much As I would like to help everyone,I choose who to help since I have been burned many times.
People drive away with my tools,They never return gas cans,They try to say you messed something on their car etc.
I had many bad experiences with diff people.
The older people and old car people know how to appreciate a hand,others think they deserve to be helped or that country/poor people like me are around to help and serve them.
This being a country where people sue other people you have to becareful who to help.
At viva las vegas in 2007 some guys in a 49 chevy 3100 with 4 leaf clover in the tailgate and a 67 lincoln had trouble witht the battery so I offered to lend my brand new battery,unfortunately some asshole took it out of my 59 dodge.
This was in Baker Ca,if you know them tell them that I loved the ride in the lincoln.

 

I helped an elderly couple off the freeway and a ride home that had a flat tire on New years eve day.
I told them I do one good deed a year and I only had one day left

 

A bunch of years ago, my son and I were headed home from the NSRA NAT.'s in San Jose Ca. when I stopped to check on a fellow rodder. He had run out of gas. Neither one of us had a gas can, but we both had our "run mugs". We drained some gas from my Model A, and he was back on the road. Several miles later I remembered my mug laying on the ground. Oh well.

 

Good start. Needs to say "You're welcome," instead of "You welcome." Also, the 'hoodlums' thing is kind of an insider term in this community. Not sure that John Q. Public would understand the meaning.

 

Great story. Karma is a wonderful thing isn't it?

I remember many (many, many) years ago when I was still into some serious bicycling. I had been out for a good ride and had had to stop to fix a flat. I did so and pedaled on. When I got home I found that my wallet that had been in my little tool bag was gone. I went back out the spot where the repair had taken place, but found nothing. When I got home a guy was standing at my front door. He had found the wallet and was returning it. Overall people are very good.

 

Great story. Made my morning. Thanks.

 

Thanks everyone for the GREAT read

 

I am just a "noobie" here but have 59 yrs. on this plantet. I have helped/been helped many times - the card is a GREAT idea!

 

Over the weekend, one of my father's long-time girlfriend's had her family up at one of the lakes here in the state. Well, her 23 year old daughter, her fiance, her two sisters, and her 5 year old daughter were headed back to Oklahoma City to start their week when her car broke down. As soon as we found out, my dad immediately jumps in his car and races the 45 miles to where they were. The girl's dad called one of the local wrecker companies to respond - supposedly one of their long time friends - to roll out and drag the car back.

Well, as soon as my dad got there, he loaded the girls all up and moved down the road about 100 yards or so due to issues (read feud) with the owner of the company. The driver rolled up, said to her fiance "Is the so-n-so up there?" to which he replied "Yeah, he's got my family with him and he's taking them back to Eufaula" and the driver turned to him, told him "Get your own F(#$ing tow" and then drove off. I got a call a short time later, jumped in my truck and hooked up to my trailer, and raced over there to drag it back here for them.

Part I'd like to highlight is, though, while they were sitting there waiting for help to arrive, there was an older couple stop to help. They drove the 8 miles into Henryetta, Ok and picked up bottles of water, and went to McDonald's for chicken nuggets for the little ones. Then they drove back, turned around on I40, and brought the stuff back to them. Then refused all payment for doing all of this.

There are still good people out there, even though there are so many who are ate up with stupid. Needless to say, Dad and I are looking at buying 3 wreckers right now. LOL

 

Great story

 

Often, it's just the tools that help the most. It pains me to see people trying to change a tire with those shitty scissor screw-jacks and tiny tire irons that came with their car. I've done that once or twice and it SUCKS. I always try to keep an hydraulic jack (mini floor jack or just a bottle) and a decent sized cross-bar tire iron in my cars. Helping people change a flat with a decent jack and wheel wrench takes less than 10 minutes.

Buddy of mine up in Edmonton was on his way to a photo shoot with his 50 Ford truck, and stopped to help a nice looking young lady with a flat tire. She wasn't dressed for wrenches and seemed to need help. They got it sorted out and were back on the road in no time.... turns out she was the model for his photo shoot later that day.

My old man taught me a lot about cars, including the fact that car people are good people. We help each other, and we help non-car-people when we can. How we conduct ourselves when no one else is looking is what defines us.

 

A long time ago I was on the freeway and my alt die killing the car and some old hot rodder came along and pick me up and took me the the parts store and drove me back to my car !! I tried the pay him and he told me to help out the next person was pay back for him and I still help out !

 

Ths reminds me of what happenned to me about 10-12 years ago.

I was on my way to work and was taking the back roads around 6am to avoid the horrible commute traffic on the freeway (680 south) and as I was coming down a hill and tapped my brakes and they locked up and into the ditch I went. Thanks to the road being wet. I'm just very happy it wasn't the other side of the road, a cliff. I was high centered on the road drain and unable to get out. Well about 6-8 other commuters ended up stopping and helped me get out. By this time I was late for work. I really appreciated that they helped me out. As soon as I was out, into their cars and off to work they went. I thanked them for the help before they left.

Now to my pay it forward.

I was on my way home not to long after my incident and was on another back road to avoid the commute traffic. I came around a bend and saw a lady in a Saturn that had mis-judged the turn and hit her brakes and ended up in a ditch. I went passed and found a place to park and by this time a few other had shown up. I waled back and saw that she was about a foot from her tires going over the edge of a cliff. She had her baby in the backseat and was a little freaked out. Well me and the others tried to get her to steer the car out as we pushed, but dur to her hysteria and a flat tire, we changed the plan. I ran back to my truck and brought it back and almost got creamed by another driver while I was turning around. I got the baby out of the car and put it into my truck and we asked the lady to get out of the car to calm down. We got her to just sit in my truck while we got the car out. We ended up getting the car out and to a spot just up the road where it wasn't going to get creamed by another driver. By this time someone had gone up to Carnegie to get a Park Ranger and he just showed up and took care of the rest of the situation. Fortunately she didn't end up off the road and severly hurt or possibly her or the baby ending up dead. After seeing the cliff, I could see why she was so freaked out. Come to find out, she had never been on that road before and was just going with the speed of others driving it.


Now you guys got me thinking of what I need to keep doing. I'm about to go on a road trip to Wyoming and this will be in my mind as to what I see on the side of the road, or hope that someone stops for me if I'm stranded again.

THIS FORUM IS AWESOME!

 

I always go out of my way to lend a hand to others in need. I carry a well stocked roadside kit in our cars. (we sometimes need it ourselves...) I once saw a rusty, beat-to-hell late 70's woodgrain Ford wagon many years ago at a rest stop when we were out of town headed for a show. This car had overheating problems bad. It blew the radiator hose off of the intake and it was leaking oil everywhere. There were about 10 people in this car and they had been traveling for ever in this shitbox. I don't know how they made it off the highway. I saw the mom sweaty as hell sitting in the car crying and the dad looking puzzzled under the hood. He was at his wits end. It was the middle of summer and he was just done....I talked to him for a bit about his car problems and he started crying too. I couldn't do anything for the poor guy, so I reached into my wallet and just grabbed a handfull of cash and gave it to him. Must have been a few hundered dollars. He wouldn't take it, but did after my insistance. I told him to help someone else when he could and he promised to.

My (ex) wife chewed my ass for doing that and she still bitches at me for it. I knew it was the right thing to do.......

 

I was cruising some of the old threads I've posted in and this is one of the best. So this is just a good old bump.

 

Last night I went and met up with my wife and some friends for dinner and a movie. After dinner I left my car in the parking lot and went over the freeway for the movie. We got back to where I parked my car, and within a couple munites an older gentleman came over and asked us for a tire iron. My friend pulled his out of the back of his Camaro and went over and pulled the guys tire off. I put it on the back of his Honda Pilot. Come to find out, the poor guy had been there for 2 hours trying to get help. I guess it just takes the right people to be asked for a little help.

 

It's just the right thing to do.

 

I always stop if I see a hot rod on the side of the road...I always say to myself...."who knows, the next time it may be me!"

 

It was 1970, I was driving home from the San Fernando Valley. In 1970, there was a land slide at Elysian Park, which covered the S/B lanes of I-5. A crew had come out and pushed the dirt to the side of the freeway, building a berm. Anyway, I got a flat tire on my '64 Bug which I had bought from my brother. I tried the change the tire but the lug nuts were frozen on. There I sat on the dirt berm at midnight. The CHP stopped and said they would check on me later.

Around 3 am, I heard a LOUD crash and saw a '65 Bonneville convertible flying through the air. I was sure it was going to hit my bug so I jumped over the berm to avoid the collision. Instead, the car missed my bug and stopped about 50 yards in front of my Bug. I crawled over the berm and ran to check on the occupants. It was a guy and his gal (a real looker) who had seen me broken down. He tried to switch over 6 lanes to help me and got hit by the only other car on the freeway that night.

His right front fender was "munched" into his tire. There was nothing he could do to help me, so I helped him to straighten out his fender using his bumper jack. After his car was fixed, he offered to stay until sun rise but I said no, some one was coming.

At 6 am, a black '68 Charger pulled over and the driver asked me what was wrong. I told him the lug nuts were frozen so he opens his trunk and has every tool known to man. Selecting a 3 foot breaker bar, I got the lug nuts off and changed my tire. I only had $5 dollars but he refused to take any money. To this day, I think of him as the "Lone Ranger" of the highway.

That day, I took my bug to work and broke all of the rusted lug nuts loose!

 

It's good to know there are still some good hearted people out there.... awsome thread

 

I always stop if I can and will turn around or make a loop if it is a female. I have two daughters, a wife, and a mom, I always think "what if that was one of my girls stranded there?". I did stop one time while I was on my Harley and the woman was too scared to get out of the car. After I assured her I could change her tire and it wasn't no problem she popped her trunk. She eased up about halfway thru the job and came out to watch me finish the job. I can't blame her for being nervous about a strange man stopping but I am sure her outlook on guys riding motorcycles changed a little after that night.

 

its good to know more like that are out there. two years ago i was on the side of the road. i needed help...i waited for almost 1 hr before someone stopped. i was wavin my hands and everything. he wouldnt take money. told me to buy him a beer if i ever see him out. i still have not and our town is not that big, jeez. i try and stop when i can.