Friendly Neighbors
I'd had a piece of bird poop stuck on my car for a while, so a few days ago I walked outside with some rubbing alcohol and paper towels to rub it off. As I was in the middle of removing it, a car slowed down next to me and the guy inside asked me what I was holding. "Rubbing alcohol."
"That's what I thought," he said, and then pulled over to talk. It turns out this guy was my neighbor from a few doors down, and that he used to run a repair shop before retiring a few years back. It also turns out that rubbing alcohol is terrible for your car's paint, so he walked me over to his garage to show me some alternatives - turpentine being his top choice.
We chatted for a few more minutes before he headed out. "If you ever have any car questions, just come over and ask," he told me. I said that I would, and he drove off.
We'd never met before, but I'm grateful that my obvious mistake was enough for him to stop his car and come out to help. I think we need more neighbors like that - and maybe we need to be those neighbors too.