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MusingsTrip Journal

Random Acts of Kindness

By June 27, 2014No Comments

Today I’m supposed to pick up one of my very best girlfriends from the Vancouver airport late at night. A couple hours ago, Spenser noticed that both headlamps on the truck were not working.

When he told me, I chuckled a little. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. EH?

Thankfully, the Ford dealership is a stone’s throw away from the coffee shop we are posted up at on this rainy Friday.

It’s Friday at 2pm. They’re clearly busy. The service parking lot is completely full so I pull in and park next to the side of the building. I walk in and immediately beg the first person I see for help. Without hesitation, he walks outside with me to see what’s going on. Gawd, I love Canadians.

He re-checked the fuses that Spenser had already taken a look at. Nothing blown. Next, the bulbs. It was strange that both had gone out at the same time, but that could be coincidental. Or, more likely, we didn’t notice when only one was working. Bingo! Phew, it’s the bulbs.

After figuring out the problem, Greg, the ridiculously kind Ontario native, showed me how to change the bulbs on my own to save us some cash. Then he told me where I could buy a new pair of bulbs for much cheaper than what the Ford dealership would charge us. Gawd, I love Canadians.

I’ll be honest. At this point, with the rain and my usual avoidance of dealing with truck issues (Bert is one intimidating beast!), I was incredibly tempted to just charge the credit card and have Greg change out the bulbs. I was reluctant, but Greg seemed confident in me, so what the heck? I drove over to Lordco (the nearest parts store) and bought a pair of 9007 bulbs.

And…I did it! Under the misty rain in the Lordco parking lot, I swapped out the bulbs. My small hands came in handy getting all up in the tight spaces under the hood, and it truly was a simple process (almost as easy as changing a light bulb)- just new territory for me. I’ll admit, I haven’t felt such a swelling of pride in, well, a really long time. I drove back to the coffee shop with grime on my hands and a huge smile on face, eager to tell Spenser about my victory.

One happy lady.

One happy lady.

To warm up, I went to buy a victory cup of tea. And, whaddya know, my tea was purchased by a person ahead of me in line as a “random act of kindness.”

Despite the rain, it’s been a good day.

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