On a recent quiet, sunny Sunday afternoon, I was on my road bike, pedaling along Portsmouth Street just inside the white line. I was wearing fluorescent yellow and had my rear-facing red light flashing when, out of the blue, I was sideswiped by a car trying to pass me from behind.
I wound up sprawled in the middle of the road with what turned out to be a slightly fractured shoulder blade. What happened next was a lesson in the kindness of strangers.
The driver of the car pulled over right away and walked up to see if I was OK. A wonderful couple coming up on the scene stopped their car and put on their flashers to slow and divert oncoming traffic while I stood and brushed myself off. The man called 911 and the woman, a nurse, kept a close eye on me until EMS and CPD arrived.
When they did arrive only moments later, Officer Salmon and her fellow police officers were calm, professional and kind. The paramedics were thorough and attentive. A stranger in a pickup truck stopped to make sure I was OK, and then kindly circled back ten minutes later to make doubly sure. The woman who lived in the house nearby came running out to offer help.
I am writing today out of gratitude to each of them because in these times of deep division and pandemic fatigue, these anonymous neighbors could’ve very easily looked the other way. They didn’t.
They didn’t care how I voted or what news outlets I preferred. They never asked about my vaccination status. They simply chose to stop and help a guy in the road they’d never met before and likely would never come across again. They were just being good neighbors.
To each of you: thank you for helping to restore some of my faith in the goodness of everyday people. In the meantime, drivers, please remember to share the road and to keep a sharp eye out for bikers.
Jed Rardin
Concord