By Staff
Chuck Bodiford Publisher
Saturday some of you might have noticed that I was out walking around 31-87; the latitude-longitude coordinates that relate to the intersection of Highway 31 and 21. I had stopped to take a few pictures of a bus that got caught in a bind trying to turn right on to Louisville Street from Main Street. I had noticed the bus earlier as I was taking my daughter out to her grandparents, but didn't think a lot about it. Stephanie and I had plans to spend the day together for Valentine's Day, and the grandparents had volunteered to baby-sit. As I was coming back through town I noticed a wrecker was going to attempt to pull the bus free from its location. I knew that traffic would be stopped for sometime so I came to the office for a camera.
When I got back on the scene I had a chance to get some photos of the bus being pulled out by the wrecker. That is when a bystander started talking to me concerning the situation. The bus wasn't the real story, but the destination that the bus was trying to get to was.
As we mentioned in a recent front page story, Amtrak had to unload the passengers here in Atmore due to problems with the train rails in north Florida. Amtrak, knowing they were responsible to get their passengers to their intended destinations, had to charter buses to pick up the passengers at the Atmore train station so they could continue with their journeys.
What really impressed me was not the fact that Amtrak made sure to have backup transportation. I feel that this is their responsibility in providing customer service. What impressed me was the fact that a local resident noticed that something was going on and took time out of his day to see if there was anything that he could do to help.
Most of us have heard the story of the Good Samaritan told in the Bible. The story tells about how a man was traveling and was attacked by bandits. They took his clothes and money, beat him, and left him for dead. Throughout the day people came across this man as he lay in need of help but was passed by, not once but twice. Later that day a Samaritan came along and took pity on him. He attended to the man's wounds and took him to a local inn for rest. The Samaritan paid the inn keeper and told him that if the man's need to stay longer is greater than the money paid, not to fret he would pay the difference next time he was there.
I am not sure what our local resident did for these people that found themselves with an unscheduled stop in our wonderful town, but I do know that at least he tried to do something. If anything he represented the town with his smile and his ability to inform those passengers of areas in our town they might want to visit while waiting for alternate transportation.
We as a town are blessed to have people that will go out of their way to help those that might be in need. Let's use this as an example and try to be more like this resident and the Good Samaritan and try to help those in need. One day the favor might be repaid.
Chuck Bodiford is an Atmore native and publisher of the Advance. He may be reached by calling 368-2123 or by email at chuck.bodiford@atmoreadvance.com