I intended to get home early this evening and write about my trip to Oak Park, IL for the WrightPlus Weekend. That will have to be put on hold while I thank the people who offered their help in time of need.
To make a long story short about how it happened, suffice it to say that I had a tire blow-out upon entering the Skyway in Chicago for the trip home. I pulled over on the emergency ramp and dialed for Roadside Assistance. Originally being told that someone would be there in 25 minutes, we waited and told three different motorists who stopped that we were 'OK'.
Then we got the call that said, because we were on the ramp, they needed to send someone else and it would be 45 minutes more. I said I would try to back down the ramp - traffic was extremely light for Chicago.
Once I got down the ramp, I dialed in again to let them know what I did at the same time that a young man on a bicycle said he could go get someone to change the tire from down the street. I told the operator what was happening and she said if someone got there before the tow truck, just let her know.
So, the young man left on his bike, another young couple stopped and offered assistance, the young man came back and said the man coming down the street would help, and we started unloading the luggage to get the spare out.
Now, how many young and helpful folks have you ever met in the space of 30 minutes just by chance? We were pleasantly surprised. The tire got changed. We chatted with the young couple who were thinking of moving to St. Joseph or anyplace along the Michigan shoreline. We were on our way within an hour of the incident occuring.
What could have been an unhappy ending to a wonderful trip turned out to be a reaffirmation of faith and trust in the American public. Way to go Chicagoans! Thanks to you all.
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