Pay It Forward – Another Real Story

In the first Pay It Forward – A Real Story I told how I first came into contact with the “Pay It Forward” idea, even though it wasn’t called that at the time. If you haven’t read that story you may want to read it first and come back here when you are done. Maybe not. Let’s get on with this story. It is true and happened to me and my wife so you are getting it first hand.

I live in Le Claire, Iowa which is right on the bank of the Mississippi River where Interstate 80 crosses to Illinois. This takes place about 2003 give or take a year or two. My wife and I were on our way to Davenport, Iowa to do some shopping and were driving on I-80 when we saw a car and trailer on the side of the Interstate. It was obvious that he had a flat tire on the right side of his small trailer. The man appeared to be by himself and was standing next to the trailer looking at the tire. Usually I don’t stop for hitchhikers or people broke down when my wife is with me because I had a scare a few years before with my son in the car. That’s a story for another time.

As we approached his car I asked my wife if she minded if I stop. She felt he looked safe enough and just was having a problem. We stopped and I walked back to see if I could help. He was in a bad way. Not only did he have a flat tire he had damaged his wheel before he could stop when the tire blew. He didn’t have a spare so not only did he need a tire he needed a wheel which can be much harder to find. We weren’t in a hurry that day so we figured we would take him up to Blain’s Farm and Fleet, get a tire and wheel and he would be on his way.

Farm and Fleet was about eight or ten miles up the road so that would be no big delay. We loaded his tire and wheel in my trunk and off we went. I was very surprised when Farm and Fleet didn’t have that size wheel. OK. Not a problem. There are a number of tire retailers nearby so off we went. After we checked out two or three of them we still didn’t have a tire. In the last one we stopped at, they recommended that I go to Quad-Cities Wheel (I think that was the name) and told me how to get there. Off we went and after a little driving around searching for the right place I found them stuck away behind some other business’ near the river. They had just what he needed and after a little delay we had his new tire and wheel and were on our way back to his car.

During the time we spent together I got his story. If I remember right he was from Indiana or Ohio and was on his way to Montana where his son was building a house. He was on his way out to help him. He had his trailer very full of used lumber and tools to use when he got there. The lumber looked pretty bad but if that’s what he wanted to use it was of no business of mine. We got the new wheel on his trailer and he asked what he owed me. I told him that when I was nineteen years old and hitchhiking across the country an Air Force Sergeant did me a good turn and when I asked him the same question he told me to just pass it on and that is what I was doing. Then I asked him to pass it on to someone else that needed help. He said he certainly would and he was on his way to Montana.

All in all it took us about three or four hours and we probably drove close to fifty miles. That was a good day. I had some interesting conversation and helped someone at the same time. I’m not recommending that anyone stops for hitchhikers or people broke down along the road. That is a decision you have to make. I will say that if you keep your eyes and your heart open the Good Lord will show you ways to help other people. That is what the “Pay It Forward” movement is all about. If you haven’t heard about “Pay It Forward” and haven’t seen the movie you really should read my earlier story.

That reminds me of another story that happened near the same spot on the Interstate. My wife and I were heading East on our way home from Davenport when we saw a young man standing next to his car on the side of the Interstate. I didn’t know him but he had local license on so we stopped. He was on his way to work and had a flat tire. He had a spare but no lug wrench so he couldn’t change it. I got mine out but it was the wrong size. OK, we’ll head for my house and get something that should work. We got back to his car, found a wrench that would fit and gave it a try. No luck. His lug nuts weren’t about to come loose. He decided that he would hitchhike on in to work and come back and get it later.

I gave him a ride to work, about 20 miles one way, and when he offered to pay me as soon as he could I told him the same story I mentioned above. I’m just passing it on to you and when you have a chance, pass it on to someone else. He said that he most certainly would and I went on home and didn’t give it much thought. A few days later a lady I used to work with called on the phone and thanked me for helping her son. She told me that she would join in and pass on some help whenever she had the chance. I got two “Pass It Forwards” going with one kindness to someone I didn’t know.

Since I’m in the mood for writing and you are in the mood to do some reading let me tell you one last story.

A couple of years after the above stories I was driving home by myself and just before I got to the rest area on I-80 I saw a car on the side of the road. I wasn’t in a hurry so I stopped and offered some assistance. The young man standing next to the car turned out to be from Korea and was on his way to Chicago to visit a friend. I’m not sure where he started at but I think it was the West Coast. He spoke very little English but with a lot of hand waving and pointing we made ourselves understood.

He was driving a rental car and wanted to put his spare on but he didn’t know how. He wanted to know if the “little” spare tire would be OK to drive to Chicago. It was one of those small spare tires that you shouldn’t drive over 50 mph and only for short distances. I told him it wouldn’t but we could get it on and get him down to the rest area where we could talk a little safer than next to the Interstate.

When we arrived at the rest area I offered to take him to get a tire if he wanted. Before we left to get the tire I checked them all for air pressure. The one that was flat was blown and the other three had over 60 psi in each. No wonder the tire blew. It was near 90 degrees and he had been pushing his car pretty hard. I told him that was way to much air and let some out to get to the pressure they should be. I showed him how to read the tire gauge and the readings on the tire. If I understood him correctly he said he had stopped for gas and the tires looked low so he just put air in until the look right. I explained that these should look kind of low since they are radial tires.

He was very happy to hear I was willing to help him and off we went to find a tire. We went to “Tires Plus” and got in line. It took about two and a half hours to get the new tire so we went in K-Mart and I helped him buy a tire gauge and he enjoyed just looking around. When the tire was ready we returned to the rest area and I showed him how to put the new tire on. When I was in my car and getting ready to go he reached for my hand. I thought he wanted to shake hands so I stuck it out the window. He took my hand and touched the back of it to his forehead about three times and said a bunch of thing in Korean. There was no way for me to explain “Pay It Forward” so I didn’t even try. I am sure that he had a very good impression of good old Iowa hospitality and told his family when he got back to Korea. Kind of made me feel good also.

You have a Great Day and I’ll see you along the road.

Bob Jones