Shawsville man benefits from a stranger's actions -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 9/22/2002
Last Visited: 9/22/2002
Meanwhile, Larry Carter woke after a restless night.A trainer with Sysco Food Service, Carter, 48, had gotten up early that morning and decided to go to the office to do some paperwork before heading to the airport for an 11:30 a.m. flight to Orlando.
On I-85, he spotted a van off the road with several people walking around it.They looked like trustworthy folks, so he pulled over and decided to hang around until the tow truck came.
But the tow truck driver
only brought bad news.By now it was 7:30 on a Sunday morning - definitely not business hours for most service stations.The driver said, though, that he could fix the tire if Ryan found the parts.
...
No problem, Carter said.He told Ryan to hop in and off they went.They tried one auto parts store - waiting a half hour for it to open - but no luck.They called another store and were assured the studs were in stock.But when they got there, the studs couldn't be found.
Another store vowed by phone it had the parts, but by this time it was 9:30, and Carter's flight beckoned.
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Instead, Carter had a better idea."Why don't you just take me to the airport and keep my car?"he said.When Ryan's van was fixed, Carter continued, he could drop off his car at a Sysco parking lot that's close to the airport.
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Later, as Carter would retell the story, he would demur, "It's just a Buick Roadmaster.It's protected by poverty.You couldn't get much for it."At the time, Carter said, "Well, are you going to steal it?"
"No," Ryan replied.
"Well good," Carter said.
They made time to pick up the part, then drove to Hartsfield International Airport.Carter sketched a map to the Sysco parking lot, told Ryan to leave the keys on the floor, and wished him well.
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As a small token, Ryan sent a basket of Virginia foods to Carter: "That's one in a million who'd stop.
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Carter, an Oklahoma native who's been in Atlanta three years, said about Ryan, "I bet he'd done that a hundred times for folks in his life.
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Carter said he hopes his example will inspire Ryan's son Adam and his friend "to learn you do the right thing for people when you need to."And perhaps more tales will be born of the Good Samaritan.
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