My friend Adrian did something this weekend that just blew me away. I'll let him explain:
"Just got home after helping a young lady get home safe. Saw her crying outside the Metro and simply asked if she was OK. After she said yes, I kept on walking but something in my head told me to walk back and make sure she was really OK. Turned out that she was denied entry from Metro staff, and none of her friends were around. I quickly made an executive decision to request an Uber driver to pick her up. While waiting, I knew that I needed her to keep on talking so she could focus her attention on anything besides wanting to ralph…and clearly she wasn't able to even stand straight. But as we have all been there before, when your body tells you that you need to ralph, you ralph. Instead of just putting her in the cab, I decided to go for the ride to ensure she got home safe. Once at her apartment complex, I walked her to her door. She asked, "Why are you helping me like this? I'm sorry you had to deal with me tonight…" And I couldn't help to respond with, "I just want you to know that there are still good people in the world. Who knows what could have happened if I never came back for you. At least now, we both know you're home safe." I returned back outside and got a cab home. I never got her name, but I'm glad that the 27 year old young lady from Alabama, and alum from Auburn University, is safe and sound. I hope a piece of humanity has been restored."
It just shows that we all need to go out of our way for another human being who might need us, even if we don't know them. This young woman's friends left her. She was drunk and vulnerable. And while you might be tempted to say she shouldn't have allowed herself to get into that situation, this blog post is not about that. This woman is someone's daughter, sister, friend, and some unsavory character could have easily taken advantage of her in a variety of ways. NO ONE deserves that.
You know when you watch the news and you hear about a robbery or rape and think 'how terrible?' That happens more than you know, and more than you hear about. You know who hears about it? Police and news people. We can't possibly fit every rape and robbery in our news programs; there's not enough time in the day. Yes, there are some bad people out there – but because of one really good person who went the extra mile, this woman is safe and sound.
I'm inspired by Adrian's generosity and caring, and I promise to do something nice for someone I don't know this week, who needs me. I hope you will be inspired too.
One last thing, I have lots of girlfriends who walk home or to their car alone late at night, because 'after all it's only a block.' If you're with me, you won't be doing that anymore. Believe me, I ask, and I argue each time, and after a few minutes I have to give up. My girlfriend's are headstrong and they believe nothing will happen to them. Trust me, you'll never regret the $5 or $10 you spend on a cab, or the extra 10 minutes it takes for me to walk you there, and you to drop me back off, like you'll regret taking that chance, if something were to happen to you. Take care of yourself, so you can take care of others – like Adrian did.
#AdrianRules