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Individuals Paying It Forward |
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I was speaking with a colleague today who mentioned how the film "Pay
It Forward" had made such a profound impression on him. As he
explained the details of the film, I was brought back in time to 30
years ago when I was a young man who worked the 11 to 7 shift as a
medical technician in Boston. I would drive 20 miles to work each
night in my beat up VW beetle, traveling along Boston's central artery,
the main highway running north and south through the city. One rainy
fall night, as I approached my exit in a downpour that was so heavy
that it was difficult to see the car in front of me, I suddenly heard
a thumping sound from the left rear quarter of the car. I wasn't much
of a mechanic, but I recognized the sound and sudden vibration as
symptoms of a a flat tire. I pulled to the side of the highway, got
out of the car, turned on my parking lights and turn signals, popped
the trunk in front of the car, and searched for a jack. I found a
device that I supposed to be part of the jack, and stood there in
the rain trying to figure out how to attach it to the car. Seconds
later, a car stopped behind me, and a young man jumped out, came over,
and asked if he could help. I asked if he knew anything about Volkswagen
jacks. He took the device from me, and attached it to the car. And
without a word, in the pouring rain, he quickly removed the flat tire,
replaced it with the spare, disengaged the jack, and finally placed
the jack and the flat in the trunk. I was rather stunned at how quickly
he had performed this task, and fumbling for my wallet, I asked if
I could repay him. He simply smiled a grin that I still remember,
saying simply "Pass it on." A moment later, he has back
in his car and drove away.
-George W |
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