Blog/Journal

The stranger in the parking lot.

Two Saturdays a month I volunteer at the local food bank.  It is a place where I feel welcome and useful.  I usually help sort fruits and vegetables, move boxes of food from one place to another or carry boxes of food to cars for the visiting needy.  Today I was working behind the tables moving boxes of food from a pile behind us to the table for easier access when I was asked to assist a man with his food.  I chatted with him as we walked in the cool air.  His boxes safely deposited in the back seat of his car I walked on towards my vehicle to retrieve some item; I don’t remember now what it was I was going to get.  I heard a frantic call from across the parking lot for someone who knows CPR. 


Having a current CPR card I rushed to help.  When I arrived there was a 70 something gentleman in the back seat of his car, he was drooling and his face was pale.  He was breathing but his breathing was erratic.  There was another gal there who also knew first and they aid and CPR she was taking his pulse and reporting to the man on the phone who had first called out for help.  He was on the phone with the 911 operator and was relaying the information.  I stood there not being able to get close enough to help and not wanting to leave for fear of abandoning this man.  Eventually we decided to lay this man down in the back seat of the car and get his feet up.  When it seemed that there were too many people around this man I stepped back.


It was then that I noticed his brother standing lost and frightened near the door of the car.  As I watched a volunteer comforted him but he seemed to have tears in his eyes for his brother.  These two men are regulars at the food bank.  Every time I am there so are they.  They are known to most as the two Russian brothers because they are immigrants from Russia.  They speak to each other in Russian although they can communicate in English and do so when necessary.  One can tell that they are close by watching them interact.


Eventually I felt I would do more good stepping away and going back to helping at the food bank so I resumed my duties inside.  Occasionally I was asked to carry a box for someone and I did so with a happy heart.  As I did so I watched the fire truck come in and then the ambulance.  I noticed that the gentleman was sitting up in his car, then that he was standing talking with the paramedics.  I was relieved and thankful that he seemed ok but I worried still that he was not.  At first it was assumed that this man was having a heart attack; it turns out it was just a seizure.


As I look back on this day the adrenalin rush that went with it I am touched by these two brothers.  They came here from Russia and have probably survived many hardships.  They rely on each other in their old age and one would be lost without the other.  Today I saw the faith of those around me as the volunteers stopped to pray for the ailing brother and prayed with the frightened one, willing god to let everything work out for the best.


I today, watching helplessly I was reminded of my dad who passed away from a heart attack.  I found myself thinking of his last moments, alone in his barn with his prized foal; quite the opposite of the scene playing out around the elderly gentleman in the parking lot.  My emotions were more than I could handle I cried on the shoulder of the best friend I have here in Washington.  I found myself being grateful for the friends I have found through this selfless act of kindness.  Everyone should take the time to carry a box of food to the car of a stranger.  You will find your life richer and your heart more full.