The Kindness of People Still Amazes Me Sometimes

[Zoneboy]

Friday, I had to meet my brother at a restaurant to pick up a cable for my monitor. He got there a few minutes before I did so I parked in front then went inside to get the cable and started to leave. My intent was to back out and go out to the main highway just as I had done many times before. Unfortunately, things didn't go as I wanted them to. As I was backing out, my right front signal light hit the left rear fender of the car parked next to me. I obviously didn't come back far enough before turning the car to the right and I put a good-sized dent into it. At that point, I pulled back into the parking space and went inside to find the owner.

The place was crowded but the owner was sitting at the first table I went to so we went outside and looked at the damage. I told her that if she wanted to call the police to go ahead and do so and she did and the Officer got there about 10 minutes later. I told him exactly what happened and that I had gone inside to find the owner and he decided not to give me a citation. The girl driving the car then called her father and since he was the owner , he came and looked at it as well. The Officer had both of our driver's license, registrations and proof of insurance in his car and was doing some paperwork.

What happened next was totally unexpected. After looking at the damage, the owner determined that he could repair the dent himself and decided not to file a claim against my insurance even though I was the one at fault. I then offered to at least pay for any materials he might need but he wouldn't accept any money nor would he take my address and phone number.

My brother said the damage had to be at least $1,000 or more. The damage to my car was a dent and a busted signal cover. Before we left, I asked him why he did this and he said that the car had been hit on the other side and that the person responsible took off without telling anyone although he was later caught because a witness go his license plate number. He said the fact that I was honest enough to come forward about it was a factor in his decision. I just stood there in shock and disbelief then we shook hands and left.

[duckie]

Wow, consider yourself lucky. That could of cost your insurance to go up.

[OH Nuts!]

Well you did the responsible honest thing so your kindness got matched with kindness. I know it doesn't always work out that way - but I'm glad for you it did.

[Janice]

That was so nice of him. What's more is that you appreciate it. There are so many ungrateful takers in this world, and they all seem to find me, lol. If this happened to me, I'd send him a thank-you card with a gift card to that restaurant. That's just me.

[Family Ties Forever!]

I agree. I think it's really nice that the man didn't hold you accountable and that you didn't take his kindness for granted.

[Marvo301]

I commend you for taking responsibility for your actions and I'm glad you were rewarded with a kind and generous response by the cars owner!

[Mr. Television]

What a wonderful story. You're very lucky. There's a bunch of jerks around the highway around here.

[Zoneboy]

3 weeks ago I sold a 1959 magazine on Ebay to a man who lived not too far from me. The issue was about steam engines and the one pictured on the cover was the exact same one a friend of his had recently purchased and he was buying the magazine as gift for him. After he got it, he told me that he was looking for an issue from 1952 that featured a story about his great-grandfather whom he never knew because he died before he was born. His great-aunt had the only surviving copy and guarded it like the holy grail but after she passed nobody could find it. He recalled seeing it a few times as a child but always remembered the date. At one time I had over 1200 of these magazines but had already sold over half. I looked and sure enough I had it. I still had his address and sent it to him as a surprise with no intent to charge him for it. He had already paid me $15 for the previous magazine so I thought it was only fair considering it was his great-grandfather and how long he had been trying to find it. He sent an E-mail thanking me and told me that Santa Claus would be bringing me something by UPS although I told him that I didn't expect anything return. I was just about to pull out of the driveway yesterday to go to a visitation when the UPS truck pulled up and handed me the box. It was very light and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what it could be but couldn't open it while driving. A few miles down the road I decided to get gas and opened it in the parking lot. After pulling out bunches of bubble wrap and newspaper I saw an envelope in the bottom with thank you written on it and inside was a 100 dollar bill. I didn't expect anything like this especially for something I only paid about 3 cents for. He told me that I had fulfilled his wish to find the magazine and that he wanted to do something to show his appreciation and it really made my day.

[born2late]

Very nice of the gentleman to do that.

[Penny Lane]

It's always great to know that there are still decent people around. You did the right thing and it certainly was well worth the effort!

[catlover79]

How wonderful. Thank you for sharing, Charles.

[80sTrivia]

Wow, great story! It's wonderful to hear about something good taking place in the world, especially during this time of the year!!!

[OH Nuts!]

It is always nice to hear about such dual kindnesses Charles. You did something nice for the man and he reciprocated. All in keeping with what Xmas should be about.