Hidden Brain - My Unsung Hero: Justin Horner's Story

Episode Date: December 24, 2021

Justin is  sitting on the side of the freeway, hoping someone will help him fix his busted wheel. Right around the time he’s about to give up, a van pulls over.Would you like to share the story of an unsung hero who helped you in a moment of need? If so, please record a voice memo and send it to [e-mail]. 

From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam. This is my unsung hero. Stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need. Hello, my unsung hero story is from a doctor I heard over 30 years ago. That's an unsung hero because he rarely got any recognition for his huge heart and his unselfish action. You mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough. Today's story comes from Justin Horner.

In 2011, Justin was driving down a busy freeway in Portland, Oregon when his Taya Blua. Justin was driving down a busy freeway in Portland, Oregon, when his tire blew up. He had a spare, but he needed a jack. So he made some big signs that said he needed help. Put them in his car window and waited on the side of the road. For three hours, no one stopped. Then right around the time he was about to give up and try to hitchhike, a van pulled up. Then, right around the time he was about to give up and try to hitchhike a van polder. And outbounded, I guess what I would call my unsung heroes.

It was a migrant working family, agricultural family that was in Oregon picking fruit. And they didn't speak any English, say for their youngest daughter, who was probably like five or six. She spoke a bit of English and they just immediately said about helping. They came over, they he unloaded his jack and it was pretty obvious from the get go that the jack was going to be too small, but the man was just like undeterred. The man seemed to know exactly what to do next. First, he went back to his van and returned with a saw. Then he found a big log on the side of the road

and cut a section out of it. Together, Justin and the man rolled the wood over to the car, put it under the jack, and managed to lift the car. Now, they just had to remove the busted wheel. So the man gave Justin his lug wrench and Justin started twisting the bolts out of the tire. But the wrench was flimsy and before he knew it, it was broken. I just cheered the head clean off of it. And the guy just took it from me and he immediately gave it to his wife.

They had a short conversation and she got in the van and took off. It was explained to me that she was going to go replace it and she was back in no time. When she returned we were able to get the wheel off and we were able to get the spare on and it was just amazing. And when we got finished, she even produced this big water jug, but what you would dump on a coach at the end of a winning football game. And we were able to wash our hands. And I just thanked them and thanked them and thanked them. And I tried to give her money.

I only had a $20 bill. And I just thought, you drove around. You've been here for an hour. It's the least I could do. And she just wouldn't take it. And, you know, I understood, you know, they just wanted to help, but I was really adamant about giving them this money. I eventually just kind of put it in her hand. And I just said, you know, there's no way I'm taking this money and I kind of walked away. And it was when I walked away that their little girl called out and she asked me if I was hungry. And in fact, I was starving. I was on my way to lunch when I had the blowout.

And she brought me a tamale from their cooler. And thank me and I thanked her and she jumped in the car and they just took off. And as they're trying to get into traffic, I unwrap the tamale and my money is in the tamale. Like they can unwrap the tamale, they'd put the 20 in and then they'd wrap it back up. And I just immediately got out of the car and I run up to the van,

he's still trying to get into traffic and he rolls down his window. He sees me coming and he's just shaking his head and I keep saying like, poor for vor, poor for vor, I'm holding the bill out. And he just kind of puts his hand up and he just, you know, with this big smile on his face, he just says, today you tomorrow me.

And he gave me a wave and you rolled up the window and Drove on to the road and took off The last thing I saw was a daughter in the back just waving goodbye and I'd never saw him again It's weird. It's it It just seemed like some you know chicken soup for the soul kind of thing, right? Today, you tomorrow, me, like, it could have been you. It could have been me. But when you start taking it apart, it's, it's kind of big.

I think at the end of the day, it just shows you that everyone can be vulnerable in a given situation, and that everybody needs help. Listen to Justin Horner, is from Portland, Oregon. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out our new podcast, My Unsung Hero, where you'll find more stories like this that recognize people who step up in a moment of need. I'm Shankar Vedanthan. See you soon. you