Wednesday Medley: Lending a Hand

I'm linking up with Terri @ Your Friend From Florida today for the Wednesday Medley. Today Terri presents us with the fact that today is National Good Samaritan Day, a day to do good for others. Hmm...a nice idea, but I hope we're all practicing that more than one day a year!

NATIONAL GOOD SAMARITAN DAY – March 13

NATIONAL GOOD SAMARITAN DAY

National Good Samaritan Day is observed on March 13th.  This day is also known as Good Samaritan Involvement Day. This is a day for unselfish actions to help those in need and to celebrate kindness.

The term “good Samaritan” comes from the Bible parable where a Samaritan helped a stranger who had been robbed and beaten and left to die by the side of the road.  The Samaritan not only cleaned the man’s wounds and clothed him, but took him to an inn where he paid for the man’s care.

The term is used today to describe those who perform acts of kindness for those in need, especially those who are strangers.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Make an effort to help someone who is struggling or having a problem. Use #GoodSamaritanDay to post on social media.

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1.  When did someone come to your rescue and can you tell us about it?  Once when my son was young (not even in school yet)….so nearly 30 years ago....he and I were out shopping and when we returned to the car and started to drive it made a horrendous noise. I looked underneath and found that the exhaust and somehow come off and wrapped around the rear axle! I couldn't drive the car home that way and I called my dad, but it was during one of the times he was battling cancer, and there was no way to call anyone else since this was pre-cell phone days. I ended up driving to a car dealership that was near the store and asking if they could help me. They were so nice and pulled my clunker right into the garage and their mechanic spent half an hour wrestling the exhaust off the axle (he said he'd never seen anything like it). They gave my son a drink and some candy and were just so nice. And then they didn't even charge me anything.

My husband has always been amazed by that story. He can't believe I even went to the garage and asked for help because he'd never have done that. I needed help and there was no other choice and it's always been my belief (and usually experience) that if you are in genuine need and ask for help, people will usually step up and do the right thing.

2.  When did you help someone out of a jam and can you tell us about it?  One time when leaving the hospital, I returned to my car in the parking garage and found an older woman wandering around, visibly upset. I asked her what was wrong and she said she couldn't remember where she parked her car. I had her get in my car and drove her around the garage...all the way to the top and back down to the bottom several times...before she finally recognized her car. She was so thankful. I just hope that if it's me one day or if it was my mom, that someone would do the same.

3.  What are your thoughts on being a good Samaritan?  Some states (like Florida) have even passed Good Samaritan laws so you don't get into trouble with the law for trying to help someone.  Being a good Samaritan is not only one of the foundation blocks of my faith, but it's also the way I was raised. Whatever you can do, you do.

4.  Thursday is National Pi Day.  It's a fun play on the date 3.14.  Will you have some pie to celebrate?  Probably not, but I had a slice of pie last night. That will have to do.

5.  Did you know that Pi is the most studied number in mathematics?  Are you good with numbers?  No, I didn't know and no, I am not good with numbers. My feelings on math go something like this....

6.  Tell us something random about your week.  There's not a lot to tell this week. Life is quiet and good. Work is going well. There are no big "things" going on anywhere. I got to go to Bible study last night and hang with my peeps. I'm reading book 2 in the Cork O'Connor series by William Kent Krueger. The weather has been pretty nice (61 degrees today!)....we're starting to get small bits of spring here and there.  Say a prayer, if you would, for "Pete" one of the residents in the dementia unit. He came down with a bacterial infection last week and has gone down hill quickly. We don't know if he will pull through and he is a favorite with everyone...as is his wife. They are such an inspiration....together since high school, married 68 years, and just as in love and devoted to each other as when they were teenagers.