Among the various situations we experience in life, there are always those that leave an impression on us. And they can do so for a variety of reasons: because they were the first, the funniest, the most dangerous, in short… a countless number of reasons why, for us, they became unforgettable.
There are two stories, among many others, that left an impact on me. One for the happiness caused and the other for the lesson learned.
The first goes back to 1990! I was on my first motorcycle, Kawasaki EN500, on my way to the Algarve. The chosen itinerary was, and whenever I go to the South it still is, going down the wonderful Alentejo Litoral, from Sines to Aljezur, passing through Porto Côvo and Vila Nova de Mil Fontes.
It was a hot day, and after Porto Côvo, I see a young couple, with backpacks on their backs, on their equally new Yamaha DT50 LC, standing on the side of the road. I stopped and asked if they needed help. They had run out of gas!
As I had filled the gas tank shortly before, I thought “let’s do this and save the situation”. Ahhhhh, but how? It’s just that I was also a “beginner” in these journeys. Suddenly, I saw a cafe a short distance away and decided to try my luck. I went in and asked:
“Good afternoon, do you have draft beer?”
“Yes, I do. Do you want one?”
“No thank you. I wanted to see if I could spare some of the hose from the machine.”
The man beheld very serious looking at me, perhaps thinking I was making fun of him. But after I explained what had happened and how I wanted to help that couple of lovers to continue their journey, the friendly man (typically Alentejo native) immediately went to get a piece of the same hose and, with a smile he told me with a very local accent:
“Ok now, go and help the poor couple.”
I did so and, after tasting the gasoline by pulling it with my mouth (which I didn’t need), I gave them enough to get to the nearest pump. They wanted to pay a lot of money, but their happiness was reward enough and we all continued our journey.
The second happened a few years later. I was following a secondary road, at the end of the day, and suddenly, following a bend, I came across a man, on a bicycle, lying on the road. I pulled over and quickly tried to get him off the road, as a car could easily run him over.
Wow, as soon as I bent over to help him get up, just with the “breath”, I almost got drunk!
So, I had to remove him, as he couldn’t even get up and then I took the bike to the side of the road. I was trying to prevent him from getting on the bike again, as he would fall further ahead, when I noticed a man approaching walking slowly, with his hands in his pockets and, when he got close, he said:
“So, you threw the man down, didn’t you?”
At that point I froze. “WHAT?”
I realized what he was suggesting, I looked around and saw that he was coming from a farm where there were more people looking. If they all swore that they had seen me hitting the man, I would have no way to deny it and defend myself, except with my word.
I took his arm and said to him:
“Come with me and see if the motorbike has any signs of having hit the bicycle. Are you crazy? So, the man is completely drunk, he was lying on the road, I stopped to help him, and you are accusing me of causing the fall?”
I was so unsettled, the man apologized and said he really was wrong, but that’s what it seemed like.
It was a lesson for life, because in situations like these, sometimes proving the truth is very difficult, no matter how noble the motivation. Suddenly, you could be involved in a serious problem.
Still, I cannot remain indifferent to those who may need support. I started to take the necessary precautions to protect myself from possible misinterpretations.
Enjoy your ride and be supportive.
