Letter to the Editor, Washington Post.
When 30 seconds is too much to ask
Monday, November 7, 6:37 AM
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I know that people have limited trust in a city. I understand that strangers can seem like mysterious beings with unclear motives. News reports of random acts of violence scare people. But I’m just a normal guy who ended up stranded in a parking garage full of other people.
I’ve been having trouble with my car battery but don’t have the money to replace it. I do have jumper cables. I grew up in Alaska, where jumper cables are a fact of life. So when my car wouldn’t start in the garage of a Northwest grocery store one evening last week, I got out the cables, popped the hood and hooked them up. (Remember: red to red, black to black.) All my girlfriend and I needed was another car to give me a charge. Thirty seconds of someone’s time.
It turned out that 30 seconds was too much to ask. The first person said his battery was too weak. The next person said she was meeting someone and couldn’t stop. Her 30 seconds became our half-hour. A polite limo driver didn’t have the right kind of battery, but the next three people flat-out said no. They didn’t want to take the risk, whatever that means. Finally, a nice woman who didn’t even know how to open her hood agreed to help.
Car started, we headed home feeling frustrated and angry. I had helped a police officer jump-start his car in the very same lot just a week before. I wonder how long he had to wait.
In Alaska, the first car would have stopped. I imagine some of those who refused me donate to charity. Couldn’t they give me just a moment?
Rafi Bortnick, Washington
When 30 seconds is too much to ask
Monday, November 7, 6:37 AM
=================================================
I know that people have limited trust in a city. I understand that strangers can seem like mysterious beings with unclear motives. News reports of random acts of violence scare people. But I’m just a normal guy who ended up stranded in a parking garage full of other people.
I’ve been having trouble with my car battery but don’t have the money to replace it. I do have jumper cables. I grew up in Alaska, where jumper cables are a fact of life. So when my car wouldn’t start in the garage of a Northwest grocery store one evening last week, I got out the cables, popped the hood and hooked them up. (Remember: red to red, black to black.) All my girlfriend and I needed was another car to give me a charge. Thirty seconds of someone’s time.
It turned out that 30 seconds was too much to ask. The first person said his battery was too weak. The next person said she was meeting someone and couldn’t stop. Her 30 seconds became our half-hour. A polite limo driver didn’t have the right kind of battery, but the next three people flat-out said no. They didn’t want to take the risk, whatever that means. Finally, a nice woman who didn’t even know how to open her hood agreed to help.
Car started, we headed home feeling frustrated and angry. I had helped a police officer jump-start his car in the very same lot just a week before. I wonder how long he had to wait.
In Alaska, the first car would have stopped. I imagine some of those who refused me donate to charity. Couldn’t they give me just a moment?
Rafi Bortnick, Washington
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