Posted on 06/15/2006 10:25:49 AM PDT by greenthumbedislndr
I left my headlights yesterday at work and so I couldn't drive home. There were few people around, but I asked this group of people for a jump (I told them I already have cables). One guy said to call the wrecking company. I have no money for a wrecking company, I'm a father of 3 young kids and we barely squeeze by each month. They had their cars there, all they had to do was drive a whole 20 yards and pop a hood open to let me hook up the cable. It would cost them absolutelly nothing besides 2 minutes of their time which they were wasting anyway. It's sad to see people be so impersonal, especially in a small town like this. I ended up going out to the street and got a couple of guys from the Lions club who were picking up the flags after flag day to give me a jump. It took less than a minute and I was happy to get home to my wife and kids, and I'm sure they got the satisfaction of knowing they did something good. Too bad those kind of people are getting fewer and fewer.
Maybe they were ignorant of the simplicity of the procedure?
Maybe these folks really just didn't know how to jump a car and were reacting out of fear of looking stupid. Either way, that was rude. Glad you got help.
Are Americans becoming poor spellers?
"Too bad those kind of people are getting fewer and fewer."
Although I agree with your point, the example isn't the best. With the delicate, and expensive, computers and electrical systems in autos these days, a simple jump can be very expensive.
A spike, or if your auto has a problem beyond just the battery being run down, and bam... that 20 second jump turns into an expensive act of kindness.
"Are Americans becoming poor spellers?"
Or just cranky rather than helpful?
You can chalk that up to all the kooks that get a jump and then cry and claim you messed up the computer in their car or their expensive plasma TVs in their van or whatever.
It’s a liability and pretty much anywhere people will tell you to call AAA or whatever.
Costco tire shop here used to have one of those booster boxes they could roll out and jump people with.
No more. All that stuff is gone precisely because of dopes complaining that you messed something up.
Doesn’t make sense to do anyone any “favors” anymore because they’ll screw you first chance they get.
Remember that back in the 40’s and all through the 50’s it was pretty much SOP to pick up hitchhikers too.
Sure the heck better not do that anymore.
Right you are.
Furthermore, he should check with his insurance agent. My auto insurance has a roadside assistance feature for about $5/year.
The thing that I notice is that there are so many willing to offer excuses for less than charitable behavior.
The thing that I notice is that there are so many willing to offer excuses for less than charitable behavior.
It depends on where you live. You can find more Americans who feel a sense of brotherly kindness in some places more than others. When I lived in Alaska, helping someone whose car was stalled was more than just an act of kindness. In many situations, if you were left out in the cold, you'd die from exposure. Everyone knew that and everyone looked out for his neighbor.
I was passing through Missouri once and I got my U-haul and my car (on the tow bar) stuck on a dead-end street near Independence. At 10:00 a.m., a guy came out and helped me get it backed up and pointing the right way again.
When I went out to Nevada to an Air Force school, I stayed several weeks at a little town called Beatty. The people there were the salt of the earth. I showed up as a stranger at Church and the people took me home to dinner, showed me the family albums with the pictures of the grandkids, and all that. I thought they were going to adopt me.
I've also found that most parts of Utah are like that as well. Now I have had negative experiences in a few places, like South Florida or in Colorado Springs, where the communities were hostile to strangers or where the people regarded anyone unknown as a potential threat, but those were the exceptions.
Out where I live now, in rural Virginia, if you're stuck on the side of the road more than five minutes, you'll have half a dozen people ask if you need help. There's a lot of good people out there, especially outside the big cities.
"Even if you make sure to stay plus-to-plus and air out the hood so explosive gases can't accumulate? "
Back in the day, our cars had very sturdy electrical systems. There wasn't much to them. Battery, alternator, coil, radio, lights, and maybe A/C.
Now cars have 2 - 3 onboard computer systems. These things work on +5V. Just like the computers we are using to correspond. If you get a big enough spike, you can overwhelm the voltage regulator.
In an old school car, not really a big deal. Now, you stand to lose a $800, or more, module.
Picture lightning hitting your house and your pc is on.
The possiblitiy of a spike is not likely, but a very real risk.
I can see how this could be caused by this litigious society where even trying to be helpful to someone could cost you an arm and a leg. I'm helpful to people anyway.
I also happen to have a degree in electronics techonology and one in computer science and engineering, and I can assure you, I wouldn't ask anyone to give me a jump if there was something wrong with my car that could cause a problem with their cars. This is simply not a problem with the vast majority of cars.
Sorry about the misspelling. I do tend to be very careful, but I do make mistakes, and the fact that english is not my first language is not an excuse.
absolutelly
I agree with many of the posters on this thread -- some folks just don't want to offer a jump for fear of liability, etc., and who can blame them these days?
As for me, I've been saved more than a few times by folks who generously helped me out jump-wise. It usually doesn't take that long to get assistance from some Good Sam -- and it really doesn't sound like you had to wait all THAT long.
Yesterday I was on call for the hospital. I got called and drove into a parking lot and made a turn to get out and it was to wide and I ended up at a 45 degree tilt into the ditch. I was helped within 3 minutes by and teenage boy and his girlfried. I asked him to drive my truck out PLEASE since I knew he could do it but I was not sure I could. All I had to do is shrug my shoulders and arms and the first car by stopped.
Cheers!
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