OK, I was pulling into a parking lot to wait for the van pool to pick me up and take me to work. There was this car stalled out in the middle of one of the lanes, and it was smoking a little bit. Well, I figured it was just overheated, so I didn't think much of it. Well, it started smoking more profusely, and I noticed a slight glow underneath the hood. That's when I started to get nervous. Then, I saw a flame emerge from the engine. So, I go to the K-Mart nearby to get help (yes, I'M the last remaining person on the earth that doesn't own a cell phone). Even though it was 7:00 am, there are usually people inside doing inventory and stuff. So, I'm banging on the door really loudly and waving my arms, and the lady inside is just looking at me like I'm stupid or something. I mean, what, did she think I was really anxious to buy a Martha Stewart bath towel? Anyways, a guy outside told me to use the payphone, and I told him I didn't have any change. Who knew that a 911 call from a payphone was free? Anyways, I call the fire department, then I'm just watching the car burn. Then, I start thinking..."Hello?! Fire + gasoline = really big explosion", and my truck was only about 30 feet from the flaming car. So, I move my truck, and the van came and picked me up just as the fire truck was rolling up. I guess I've learned two things from this: 1) 911 calls from payphones are free. I guess it makes sense, since it would probably be kind of difficult to fish around for change if your hand got cut off or something like that... 2) K-Mart employees are insensitive assholes...
You can also make 911 calls from an inactive cell phone. So if anyone has an old cell phone out there that is not on any type of plan, carry it with you for emergency situations.
So, what good deed did you do besides report a car fire? One time I was driving down FM1960 near Kuykendhal and I saw a carful of big ladies (older) and they had their hazards on. I see that nobody is helping them and one of them gets out and tries to push. Out of gas or something. So I pullover across the street and go over to help, I figure that the one pushing will help me, nah she hops back in the car. So I push a car with at least 1,000lbs of extra load at least a block down the road to an Exxon. That was pretty cool. I bet I had them going 20-25mph!
That reminds me of a time when I was visiting Minnesota (before I moved here). It was the weekend of the big Halloween snowstorm of 1991. I was a passenger in a car, and we got stuck. Another car was stuck. The driver of that car helped me push the car I was in and then I had to go push him. Unfortunately there was only one of me pushing his car. I had told the driver of the car I was in to keep going (we were almost at the hotel) and I would walk the rest of the way rather than risk having our car stuck again.
