It was icy in the West Hills, and the road was steep, and Todd Patterson was driving to the store to buy firewood when he saw an elderly woman in a beat-up maroon sedan, wheels spinning, stuck on the hill.
Patterson, 29, is a student in the Concordia University master's degree program, and someday he wants to teach high school social studies to native Spanish-speaking students. But on Tuesday he just wanted to help. So he pulled his truck to the side of the road, skated to the rear bumper and started pushing along with another man who had stopped to help.
The two men dug in together.
The woman in the car floored the gas pedal, turning the wheel left to right.
Nothing.
Of course, cars drove past. Lots of them. Patterson remembers a speeding Lexus sedan, and some luxury sport utility vehicles that cruised by. And not one of them stopped, slowed down or even rolled down a window to ask if they could help. And so we arrive today with a question: What's the holiday season without a feel-good surprise?
Because the senior in the car was worried about getting home and she was feeling helpless. And the two men pushing were slipping, and losing traction, and looking at each other, getting worried. And all of a sudden, Patterson heard thumping, and bumping, and the sound of blaring hip-hop music coming.
A black luxury SUV coming down the hill slowed, then pulled to the side and stopped. Its windows were tinted. The driver door opened, and a man with a blue walking boot on his left foot stepped out, and tip-toed across the ice to help.
It was Martell Webster.
The Blazers small forward will miss another month of play because of a stress fracture in his left foot. X-rays last week revealed the injury that has kept him out for all but a few minutes of the season isn't improving. So maybe he was acting against medical advice when he stopped to help move that car, but the grandmother who raised Webster with good values and a love for others would tell you he was just doing what he was taught.
"It was the way I was raised," Webster said. "If someone needs help, you stop and help them."
Webster got there, the car got going. The senior floored it, sped up the hill and disappeared over the crest. The other man helping walked off, too. But Patterson just stood there, looking at Webster, wondering how in the world one of the biggest Blazers fans in the city had come face to face on the hill with a player he loves to cheer for.
Said Patterson: "I'd just watched a bunch of rich people in cars blow us off, and now I've got Martell telling me to have a Merry Christmas."
Maybe you think it's nothing that Webster stopped, risked a little injury, and maybe had his team worried, or maybe you do. What you can't ever forget is that a couple of seasons ago, Portland center Dale Davis was fined because he refused to walk down his icy driveway during a winter storm. He missed the team bus.
When I asked Webster about stopping to help the stranded motorist, his question to me was, "Which one?" He had helped free a second stranded motorist in Tualatin earlier Tuesday.
It's been said that Webster hasn't made a contribution this season, but there's a senior citizen somewhere in this city who would disagree with that.
Before Webster left, he shook Patterson's hand. Then he climbed back into his car and was making a U-turn to get on his way when Patterson rolled down his window, reached out and gave Webster a peace sign. Webster rolled down his windows, too, and made the sign back.
Patterson shouted, "You da man, Martell!"
Webster shouted back, "No, you're the man. You stopped first."
1 comment:
Just brings a tear to my eye!
Post a Comment