This is a story that was told to me and now I’m going to share it with you. It may be unrelated to this blog but it’s important and it’s a story that stuck with me for many years. I knew I’d share it on my blog before it was even a real thing because I always tell this story to new people I meet when I have nothing to else to say and I always say it when I go camping.
This story is based on a real event, about a tow truck driver in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He works for a great towing company and was one of their best employees. Keep in mind this story took place quite some time ago so he might not work for the same company, let alone do towing services anymore, but his work will always live on in these marvelous chapters.
I’m not sure the hero’s real name, but for the sake of easy story telling I’ll just call our tow truck driver Chuck. Now Chuck was a large man, and very mysterious. He worked under a secret code of conduct that he never put into words for other people to understand but whatever it was he followed it to every detail and never strayed from the path it laid out for him. Keep this mysterious code of conduct in mind as you explore these events with me.
It was a sunny Tuesday morning, and after helping his friend move since 4 in the morning he got to work at 8 AM, hopped in his tow truck and drove off through the streets of Halifax providing various towing services. Maybe after helping his fifth or sixth client with short distance tows and odd services like jump starting and lockout key assistance, Chuck watched a hooded figure snatch a child from its mother and run off with it on the side of the road. At first Chuck must have thought he was watching a movie from the window of his tow truck because he kind of froze, but then when the mother started screaming Chuck’s inner code of conduct whipped him into action and he put his tow truck into gear and turned down an alleyway to chase the kidnapper.
The hood of the tow truck smashed through boxes and knocked aside garbage bins, and paper and junk was flying everywhere as our Hollywood-like savior speed-rocketed through the alley. But then, just like in many movies, the alley got too thin so he had to jump out of his tow truck and chase the kidnapper on foot. He could still hear the mother screaming faraway as soon as he opened the door, and the kidnapper was nearly in his grasp.
Now remember Chuck was a large man so he wasn’t the best runner, but he had a head start on the villain because he too was clearly not in the best shape. Chuck followed the hooded figure into a creepy abandoned building and heard the echoes of the baby’s cries dashing around the atmosphere. Now Chuck couldn’t tell which direction this creep had went so he paused and listened to the crying carefully. Then, as if using spider senses, he just had a hunch and bolted through a hallway. Sure enough he saw disturbed cobwebs and the baby’s cries got louder.
Then, turning a corner, the flash of a knife sparkled as it zoomed out of the shadows and our heroic tow truck driver used his instincts to knock the knife aside and then he used his fist to knock the kidnapper across the chin. The hooded creep fell to the floor with a thud and our hero took the baby in his arms. He wanted to hold down the kidnapper until the police came, but all he could think about was getting the baby back to it’s mother.
Minutes later the hero returned the baby to it’s mother and when the cops arrived they were so surprised that this tow truck Halifax service provider was a heroic champion who would do something so selfish and dangerous to save the baby of this poor woman. Sure enough Chuck was interviewed by not only the cops but many newspapers, magazines and radio shows. This was many years ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his story is still being told in the streets of Halifax, which are a little safer because of him. The kidnapper had been found and jailed, and Halifax had a new hero.
This story is amazing enough to inspire people as it shows how an ordinary man can do extraordinary things. But the real amazing thing about this is what Chuck said to the newspapers in his interviews. He relieved his mysterious code.
When they asked him why he did it, Chuck answered, “Help others and the universe will help you. Don’t help others and no one will be there when you need help the most.”
So there we have it. Hope this story was entertaining. Come back soon for more interesting Olympic Bagel content.
