Hidden Brain XX
[0] From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.
[1] This is my unsung hero.
[2] Stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.
[3] This story is about two unsung heroes.
[4] I don't even know if it was a man or a woman.
[5] Someone I will probably never know.
[6] My eighth grade English teacher, my unsung hero.
[7] Today's story, It was 1994, and I was 20 years old.
[8] I had stayed for the summer at my college campus in Connecticut just to work in the library and earn some money.
[9] And a few of my friends had stayed as well.
[10] So one night, I was over at a friend's house and decided to walk home.
[11] It was about 2 .30 in the morning.
[12] and I had to walk quite a distance from one end of the campus to the other.
[13] I was walking out a very dark street, and two men approached me. They were both really tall, and I'm about five feet tall and small.
[14] And they were clearly drunk.
[15] One of them was standing in front of me, and the other one was standing behind me. and I didn't know what to do.
[16] I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be bad.
[17] And all of a sudden, a car pulled over, and two people got out of the car, a man and a woman.
[18] And the man asked me, are you okay?
[19] And I said, no. And he immediately engaged with the two men to try to get them away from me. and I don't know what happened next because I just ran.
[20] I was so terrified.
[21] I ran straight to my house and locked the doors.
[22] I don't know what happened that night, but I do know that those two people saved me from a horrible fate.
[23] And I am so grateful to them, and they are my unsung heroes.
[24] If I could say anything to them, I would say thank you for noticing what so many people would have driven past and for speaking up at a moment when you didn't have to.
[25] Leah Bartell of Woburn, Massachusetts.
[26] Her major in college was music, and she went on to become a professional violinist.
[27] Today, she's a performer and an educator.
[28] Leah tells us, I hope my story inspires someone to step in to help a stranger in need, or simply to ask the question, are you okay?
[29] If you'd like to share the story of an unsung hero who made a difference in your life, it's easy to do.
[30] Go to my unsunghero .org where we have information about how to record and send your story to us.
[31] If you enjoy these stories, please be sure to share this podcast with a friend.
[32] Word of mouth recommendations really make a difference.
[33] I'm Shankar Vedantham.
[34] See you soon.