Passersby give travelers much needed 'lifts'

Sid and Carol Anderson of Kalispell titled their recent letter to the Inter Lake “Kindness and thoughtfulness still live in Kalispell.”

The two were on the receiving end of their neighbors’ kindness and concern on two separate incidents earlier this summer.

On one occasion, the couple were crossing the street by Sykes Market when Carol’s walker hit a pothole in the road, which tipped her walker — and Carol — over on the curb. Three men and a woman rushed over to offer assistance and get her back on the seat.

On another occasion, Sid discovered he had a flat tire when he came out of Smith’s grocery. Several fellow shoppers came over to give him a hand. A couple of women even offered him bottled water.

“We just want everyone to know that there are still people in Kalispell who will stop and help even if they are busy,” they wrote. “This is my thank you. God bless all of you.”

Another email we recently received read “Young Good Samaritans” in the subject line and was from George Adams, an adjunct professor of music at Idaho State University who was vacationing in Glacier National Park when a misstep caused him to injure himself.

On July 10, Adams was walking back to his car on the steep road shoulder after finishing a photo hike to Avalanche Lake. He hit some loose gravel and fell, spraining his ankle.

As he lay there trying to decide how to get up, two young women (recent high school graduates on their way to the lake) saw his predicament and offered to help. They got him on his feet and offered to help him get to his car but he was unable to put any weight on his ankle. One of the women then offered to drive him to his car; the threesome ultimately decided it would be better to have one of them drive his car down to him. Then they helped him across the road and then into his car, making sure he was OK before heading back toward the trailhead.

“In the confusion, I never learned their names,” Adams said. But he learned that one of them was a recent graduate in Kalispell who is entering Washington State University this fall. The other young woman was visiting from Mississippi.

“While my ankle was painful, I had (and still have) a feeling of deep gratitude for these fine young women and a renewed confidence in our future,” Adams said. “If they are typical of our young people, then our nation is in good hands.

“It is my hope that someone will recognize these outstanding young women and tell them of the gratitude and hope I feel because of their kindness.”