That would have to be in High School when i pulled my 2wd ranger off to the side of an abandoned grange building for some hanky-panky with an old girlfriend. Got stuck on the lawn of the grange. I could not get out, even after i tried pushing with her driving.
The next door neighbor to the grange pulled into his driveway as all this was happening. I walked over to see if he would help (embarassed as all get-out because it was obvious what we had been up to) and the dirty SOB stuck a 9mm in my face and told me he was calling the cops. He was one of those guys that owned 5 acres with a wall all around them and a big wrought iron gate across the driveway. You know the type. Hates everyone that isn't him. I guess it made him nervous that I walked up on him after dark, but i made myself known while I was still a long way off (he was out of his truck shutting the gate behind him) and he did nothing until i got up close, so you know he was just itching for a chance to be a jerk.
Well, as you can imagine, I wasn't looking forward to the cops showing up. I was goign through the list of all the charges...
1.) Trespass
2.) Destruction of property (I had torn up a little bit of grass trying to get out) and even though the property was not being used, you can bet I was thinking that they were going to throw the book at me.
To top that off, I know that as soon as they show, the only way i'm getting out is with a wrecker, so that is a $250 bill (money is tight when you're in High School) and on top of that, I had no illusions that they weren't going to call the GF's Dad and tell her what we'd been up to. So I was looking at getting HER in trouble, too, on top of having one PO'ed hombre on MY back in the form of a Daddy who just found out his little angel isn't quite as innocent as he'd originally thought. I didn't want her to get in trouble, that was the one thing that stuck with me as i was walking back tot he truck to the sound of Dudley Dorkhead behind me calling the 5-O on his cell phone to report a "prowler" of all things... -mad
Anyhow, as i'm walking back, yellow lights start flashing at me from the road behind me. I shook my head, thinking "there's no WAY the wrecker has showed already!" and turned to see a beat up old white chevy work truck pulling up to me. Out pops the head of the coolest guy in the world, a man who's name i never knew, and couldn't recognize if i ever met him again because it was so dark. He'd driven by earlier, and seen my taillights as I was trying to get unstuck, and had gone home, gotten his work truck, and come back to help. I told him the police were probably on the way, and he said "we'd better hurry the hell up, then, huh?"
He had me pulled out in three shakes of a lambs tail, and refused to take the $20 I offered him (it was all I had). He told me to quit screwing around and get going before the police showed up, so I did and we parted ways. Never got to thank the man properly. Hope he's reading this....
Drove back by about 5 minutes later, Dudley Dorkhead was standing in the Grange lot with a County Mounty, pointing, waving his fists, gesturing, all animated and the like. He was obviously telling the cop how I'd attempted to rape his wife, assaulted him, stole his truck, and probably broke the automatic gate opener on his big, stupid gate. I laughed as I drove past.
So, I didn't go to jail with a big tow bill, Daddy never got the wiser, and I met a total stranger that changed my outlook towards helping others forever.
Embarrassing? Hell yes!
Would I give up the experience? Hell no!
