A Chance Encounter

This is based on a true story my father told me which happened to a woman he worked with.

One day, a middle-aged black woman was driving down a highway on her way to work when she spotted an old, rusty car parked on the side of the road with its hood popped.  Because she was feeling unusually generous that day, she decided to pull over and see if the driver needed help.

Upon leaving her car and approaching the window, the woman spotted the distraught driver, a younger man with his bald head planted on the steering wheel and long, spindly arms strewn atop the dashboard. Although the man was bald, he was not clean-shaven, and his arms were covered in dirt and grease. He wore torn blue-jeans and a tucked-in, plaid polo. The woman’s friends would probably call him a “redneck”. The man was obviously distressed.

“Would you like a jump-start,” the woman asked, in her most business-like voice.

Suddenly, the man lifted his neck, silently, much like a dog that has been awoken by a noise. His eyes were wide. Tattooed across his face was a massive blue swastika. The black woman was taken aback, but tried to maintain her facial expression. She wasn’t sure whether she should hit the man, or just walk away. Yet, perhaps due to her unusually generous mood, she did neither.  Instead, she clenched her fists at her sides, absorbed a shallow breath, and maintained her gaze upon him.

By now, the man in the car had turned his face back towards the windshield. He merely cast the woman a nervous sideways glance. His fist too, was clenched at his side, and the other hand gripped his bald head. His expression: a mixture of frustration, nervousness, and embarrassment. A few seconds of silence passed, and the man contemplated the situation.

“Well, I usually don’t accept help from black people,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact, resolute.

The woman replied, her tone also resolute, “Well, I usually don’t help Nazis…” She paused. “But today, let’s just be people.”

So, the man reluctantly agreed to let her jump start his car. The two focused on the task, speaking about nothing else. When the engine of the man’s car started, the two stood alone on the side of the highway.

Then, the man asked nervously, “Can I approach you?”

The woman was uncertain, but steeled herself and replied: “Yes, you may.”

To the black woman’s surprise, the bald man with the swastika on his face came up and hugged her. Then, he said with tears in his eyes: “I was taught that black people were evil, that they only cared about themselves and would never help me with anything. Now, you are here. It’s amazing.”

“Well,” the woman replied, “I was taught that Nazis are evil, that they are horrible racists who hate me and want to kill me. But today, we’re just people.”

Then, the two drove away.