About a month ago I hear a crash out front and I rush out to look. There is an older Saturn in my driveway and the side is ripped open (they are plastic after all).
A frail art student type college kid (we live a mile from campus) comes out and looks pretty shaken but he's perfectly fine. The damage is limited to the cosmetics of the side panel and the rear wheel is taco-ed (hit hit the guard rail on our curve).
I calm him down and tell him we all make mistakes and this won't be his last (no he wasn't drunk) as he was pretty hard on himself about it. I showed him that the car would be fine if he could deal with the cosmetic issues. He asked if he could use my phone to call a tow truck and I told him he didn't need one. "I can drive it like that? The rear tire is ripped off." I then introduced him to the spare tire which he honestly hadn't thought of (did I mention art student?
). I proceed to swap the tire with my cordless impact, high-lift speed jack and torqued the lugs in 5 minutes. I told him about a junk yard near campus where he could get a new wheel and possibly some panels. His spare was the doughnut and I jokingly told him not to be "that guy" that drives around on it for weeks. The kid was very impressed and thankful and was feeling much better when he left realizing it wasn't the end of the world.
Yesterday I find a letter in my front door:
[front text] Some things touch us in a special way, like a warm smile, a friendly word, an act of kindness. You bring that special touch to all you do....[front text]
[inside]Hey! You helped me out when I got into an accident in front of your house one Sunday night about a month ago. I just wanted to make sure such an act of kindness did not go without recognition and true thanks. It was a very scary time for me, and a strangers kindness helped me through it.
Thank You![inside]
Good kid.