Another car good deed. We used to have a mini-motor home and had been down in Texas visiting a sister and brother-in-law. We (my wife and I and all seven kids) were on our way home and had just reached Joplin, Missouri when the van really bogged down. We weren't doing more than about 30 on the interstate, so pulled over at a gas station by the first exit. The guy there, after looking at everything, started reading off a long list of repairs that would be needed. Several hundred dollars worth. Thanked him, but said I thought we'd check some more before having the work done.

About a mile up the road was this greasy, dirty, concrete block garage. I pulled in and mentioned we were on our way home from vacation and told him about the problem. The man (pretty dirty and greasy himself) said, "Just a minute." Went inside, got something, raised the hood and in just a few minutes said, "That oughta' do ya."

I asked what the problem was, and he said, "Heck just a little filter. T'wernt nuttin."

I asked how much I owed him, and he said, "Nothing. Yer' on yer' way home and didn't need the hassle of havin' to stop, anyway."

I gave him $10 dollars and said to at least have a round of beers on us. The van ran beautifully after that.