I could see the man trying to balance a 24-pack of water
bottles and I knew he was not going to make it.
As I came up behind the very unsteady, elderly man in the
Hy-Vee parking lot, I asked him if I could help him. I practically begged him to let me help. As he responded with an emphatic "no" he went down
on the concrete. Hard. His cane bounced off the ground and his bags
spilled open. I cringed at the sound, quickly handed
our bags to Janessa and told her to be ready to help. I rounded up a random passerby, Jadyn, and a
high school Hy-Vee employee, who looked bewildered, and we helped the man to his
feet. It seemed like it took hours to
get him to his feet. The iron rod that
took the place of his left leg was revealed under his sweatpants as we helped
him up. He needed more time. Just to catch. His breath.
When we got him to his feet, I told him flat out that I was
concerned for him and I wanted to get him more help. Calling 911 was out of the question and he
didn’t want his wife to know. “She doesn’t
need to know,” he reassured me. He could
barely get the words out. She was in
the store and would be out soon. So I
didn’t go find her. After we collected
his things and got him in his car, I wondered if he would even tell his wife
that he fell in the parking lot.
Hard. It didn’t really
matter, I guess. I knew I had walked out of
Hy-Vee at the right time tonight, somehow forgetting the prescription that was
on my list.
The passerby I rounded up as part of our motley crew of Good
Samaritans followed Jadyn, Janessa and I to the car and asked me for
money. When I came up short, Jadyn
pulled money out of his own wallet and handed it to the man, who then told us
in broken English and with the biggest smile, “We family now.” I smiled back and said, “Absolutely.”
Just last month, a man was stranded outside Hy-Vee, waiting
with his walker as he literally cried to me and Janessa as we tried to enter the store. He just needed to make a
phone call to a taxi company, he said. When I
told him that I would be happy to oblige, he then asked me to make the phone call. Janessa stood by and
watched as her mother fumbled through Google to find the taxi number. The cab company was very familiar with our
stranded Hy-Vee comrade. “Jerry” had
already called, the lady told me very annoyed.
She couldn’t understand why he was calling again. When I
told her I was just calling to make sure someone was on the way, that didn’t
seem to appease her. Apparently, Jerry
would be picked up when it worked for them.
He would just have to wait. Jerry
took the news in stride and said he would wait.
He was thrilled that he was able to get through. On my phone.
Janessa and I walked into the store that snowy day hoping for Jerry that the cab would
get there soon.
I always find myself reflecting on these situations
afterward, wondering if I did the right thing, and more importantly, wondering
if I could have done more. But I’m grateful
my kids have been with me to see what it means to really help someone in
need. It wasn’t convenient tonight. It was awkward. It required getting up in someone’s space and
letting them into mine. It’s one thing
to volunteer at a soup kitchen. Or to give
money to a distant child in Africa. Or
to do amazing things through church groups and non-profit organizations when
you are prepared to do them (and those are all worthy, wonderful things). But it is quite
another thing to have a person in need come flying into your daily reality, your
comfort zone, and literally stand in your path with a real, urgent need.
Tonight, I’m grateful for parents who taught me that you
help regardless of circumstances and regardless of the messiness of it
all. I’m grateful my kids have been at
each of these bizarre situations at Hy-Vee and that they already seem to be
getting this Good Samaritan thing.
