The Good San Franciscan

   Roger Walters drove his BMW confidently down the expressway.  He had made that sale, and all was well with the world.  He picked up his cellular phone to call his wife and tell her he would be home in less than an hour.  What a day it had been!  Success was pulsing in his veins.

   Flash!   A bullet came from nowhere, grazed the side of his head and pierced through the windshield.  Roger somehow swerved to the side and came to a stop.  All that happened next was awful and tragic.  Roger Walters was left unconscious, robbed, and alone.

   Marie Grace was driving to her meeting shortly after the crime.  She saw the slumped shape and strangely parked car.  Thinking she better not be late, she headed for the left lane to avoid the whole mishap.  She turned her head so that she wouldn’t see what it was.  Soon the whole scene was out of her mind.

   Mr. Smith and his aide were traveling down this same thoroughfare.  They were reviewing the findings of the day.  Much data was yet to be processed.  When would they find the time to do all that needed to be done?  Each noticed the car at the same time. 

   The aide suggested the best thing to do was to call the state trooper’s post and get help.  After trying several times to get through, they decided someone would stop, and that it was not necessary for them to stop themselves.  The weight of their duty made them press on.
 
   Julio’s Sanchez said “good night” to Lon Nguyen who took over his shift for the night.  He was so very tired from being on his feet most of the eight hours of his workday as a security guard at the plant.  He looked forward to going home and having that great meal his mom had prepared for him.

   Julio’s supported his mother with his meager salary.  They lived together in a modest home not far from the plant.  Julio’s was always careful to save for a rainy day so that he could care for his mother properly.

   As he started his car he noticed he was getting low on gas.  Better stop and fill up before I get home, he thought.  He usually followed the same path through the side streets to get to his house.  This time he took the expressway so that he could fill up at a station that had reasonable gas prices.

   Driving along in the right lane, he noticed a car pulled over to the side barely off his lane.  As he got closer, he saw that the driver was slumped over the steering wheel.  Should he stop?

   He was ‘Oh so tired,’ and almost out of gas.  On the other hand, this was a person in trouble, and not many people drive by at this time of night.  Julio’s decided to pull over.

   This was a person in great need.  Julio’s noticed the bullet hole in the windshield.  He also saw that the driver was beaten unconscious and robbed.  His clothing was torn and a lap top computer case was thrown empty on the floor of the front seat. What to do?

   Julio’s gently carried the man to his car and carefully laid him down in the back seat.  He drove directly to the nearest emergency room and notified the people at the desk that he had an injured person in his car.  He explained the circumstances under which he brought this injured man and waited for the police so that he could answer questions for a police report.

   The police had many questions, as did the hospital attendants.  Julio’s stayed as long as was necessary to make sure everything was taken care of.  He left twenty dollars at the desk in case it was necessary since the victim’s wallet was taken too.  He even led the police back to the victim’s car so that he could help gather all the clues possible that led to determining what happened.

   Finally, the police told him to go home.  Julio’s made his way home by way of a gas station, thinking that tomorrow after work he’d check up on the man and make sure everything was all right.  What a long day it had been!

   Who was the person who practiced philanthropy?

Note:   This story is a modern-day version of the parable The Good Samaritan as retold by Joyce Rogers.