EDITOR,

While driving alone to work on a Tuesday morning, my truck lost all power right behind a stopped school bus at the railroad tracks on Tracy Boulevard. It was fortunate for me that the school bus moved on just as I managed to stop without the aid of power steering or brakes. What was unfortunate and frightening was that my truck managed to stop itself right there on the railroad tracks!

Once I realized that I was unable to restart the truck, and with it partially in the oncoming lane of traffic, I hit my hazard lights and scrambled out through the passenger side to call AAA. I had worked myself into quite the panic over my situation when a city of Tracy pickup pulled in behind me and the driver began diverting traffic around my truck. That done, he backed his truck up to clear a path and then jumped into my driver’s seat and let my truck coast backward until it was off the tracks and clear of the railroad crossing arm.

My story doesn’t stop there. This wonderful man then called in to say he’d be late to his job site, and he stayed with me until my truck had been loaded onto a flatbed 30 minutes later. More than that, he offered me a ride and made sure that I was safely at my job before heading off to his own!

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I forgot his name in all the craziness, but I want him to know, and I want his coworkers and his family to know, that this random act of kindness meant the world to me and to my family members, who were unable to get to me. It renewed my faith in others.

I am truly thankful for his selfless act and I promise him this — I will never, ever again grumble at a city truck slowing my way to the grocery store, and I will find a way to help a stranger whenever I can.