Sometimes, people you don’t know are the best kind.
So, let me tell you about this one time. I was driving out of state, middle of nowhere really, trying to get to my cousin’s wedding. Yeah, one of those long, boring drives on back roads because the GPS promised it was faster. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
Anyway, my car just… died. One minute cruising along, next minute, sputtering, silence. Coasted to the side of this dusty road. Nothing around. Trees, fields, maybe a cow far off. That kinda scene. Cell service? Forget it. Zero bars. My fancy roadside assistance plan? Totally useless without a signal.
I sat there for maybe an hour. Getting hot. Getting worried. Tried flagging down the few cars that passed. Most just zoomed by. Can’t blame them, I guess. I probably looked a bit sketchy myself, stranded out there.
Then this old pickup truck pulls over. Two guys inside, looked like local farmers or something. Bit rough around the edges. Honestly, my first thought was, ‘uh oh’. You hear stories, right?
But the driver rolls down his window. Just asks, “Trouble?”
I explained the situation. Car’s dead, no phone signal. They get out, have a look under the hood. Poke around a bit. Didn’t pretend to be master mechanics, just confirmed what I already knew. “Yep, she ain’t starting.”
Here’s the thing. They didn’t just drive off. The older guy says, “Look, nearest town is about 20 miles back. We’re headed that way anyway after we check our fences down the road. Can give you a lift.”
I hesitated for like, a second. But what choice did I have? So, I grabbed my bag and hopped in. Smelled like dirt and maybe hay. We drove, mostly in silence at first. Then they started asking simple questions. Where was I headed? Where from? Just normal chit-chat. Offered me a bottle of water from their cooler. Didn’t ask for gas money, didn’t make it weird.
