Hidden Brain XX
[0] From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.
[1] This is my unsung hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.
[2] Hello, my unsung hero story is from a doctor I heard over 30 years ago.
[3] He's a unsung hero because he rarely got any recognition for his huge heart and his unselfish action.
[4] You mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough.
[5] Today's story comes from Justin Horner.
[6] In 2011, Justin was driving down a busy freeway in Portland, Oregon, when his tire blew up.
[7] He had a spare, but he needed a jack.
[8] So he made some big signs that said he needed help, put them in his car window, and waited on the side of the road.
[9] For three hours, no one stopped.
[10] Then, right around the time he was about to give up and try to hitchhike, a van pulled up.
[11] and outbounded, I guess, what I would call my unsung heroes.
[12] It was a migrant working family, agricultural family, that was in Oregon picking fruit.
[13] And they didn't speak any English, save for their youngest daughter, who was probably like five or six.
[14] She spoke a bit of English.
[15] And they just immediately set about helping.
[16] They came over.
[17] that he unloaded his jack and it was pretty obvious from the get -go that the jack was going to be too small but the man was just like undeterred.
[18] The man seemed to know exactly what to do next.
[19] First, he went back to his van and returned with a saw.
[20] Then he found a big log on the side of the road and cut a section out of it.
[21] Together, Justin and the man rolled the wood over to the car, put it under the jack, and managed to lift the car.
[22] Now, they just had to remove the busted wheel.
[23] So the man gave Justin his lug wrench, and Justin started twisting the bolts out of the tire.
[24] But the wrench was flimsy, and before he knew it, it was broken.
[25] I just cheered the head clean off of it.
[26] And the guy just took it from me, and he immediately gave it to his wife.
[27] They had a short conversation, and she got in the van and took off.
[28] It was explained to me that she was going to go, replace it.
[29] And she was back in no time.
[30] When she returned, we were able to get the wheel off and we were able to get the spare on.
[31] And it was just amazing.
[32] And, you know, when we got finished, she even produced this big water jug, you know, what you would dump on a coach at the end of a winning football game.
[33] And we were able to wash our hands.
[34] And I just thanked them and thank them and thank them.
[35] And I tried to give her money.
[36] I only had a $20 bill.
[37] And I just thought, you know, You drove around.
[38] You've been here for an hour.
[39] It's the least I could do.
[40] And she just wouldn't take it.
[41] And, you know, I understood, you know, they just wanted to help.
[42] But I was really adamant about giving them this money.
[43] I eventually just kind of put it in her hand.
[44] And I just said, you know, there's no way I'm taking this money.
[45] And I kind of walked away.
[46] And it was when I walked away that their little girl called out and she asked me if I was hungry.
[47] And in fact, I was starving.
[48] I was on my way to lunch when I had the blowout.
[49] And she brought me a tamale from their cooler and thanked me. And I thanked her and she jumped in the car and they just took off.
[50] And as they're trying to get into traffic, I unwrapped the tamale and my money is in the tamale.
[51] Like, they had unwrapped the tamale.
[52] They'd put the 20 in and then they'd wrapped it back up.
[53] And I just immediately get out of the car and I run up to the, the van he's still trying to get into traffic and he rolls down his window he sees me coming and he's just shaking his head and i'm i'm just i keep saying like por favor for favor like i'm holding the bill out and he just kind of puts his hand up and he just you know with this big smile on his face he just says today you tomorrow me and gave me a wave and he rolled up the window and drove onto the road and took puff.
[54] The last thing I saw was his daughter in the back, just waving goodbye.
[55] And I never saw him again.
[56] It's weird.
[57] It's, it, it just seemed like some, you know, chicken suit for the soul kind of thing, right?
[58] Today, you, tomorrow, me. Like, it could have been you.
[59] It could have been me. But when you start taking it apart, it's, it's kind of big.
[60] I think at the end of the day, it just shows you that everyone can be vulnerable in a given situation and that everybody needs help.
[61] Listener, Justin Horner, is from Portland, Oregon.
[62] If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out our new podcast, My Unsung Hero, where you'll find more stories like this that recognize people who step up in a moment of need.
[63] I'm Shankar Vedantham.
[64] See you soon.