During the Great Northeast Blackout of August 14, 2003 my office lost power a little after 4 pm, so we were all sent home. I had a hard time getting out of the office park, since it empties out onto a very busy road.

It took me about 45 minutes to reach my exit in Delmar. On the way to the stop light, I saw a Blazer on the side of the road. Traffic moves very slowly there at that time of the day, so it is easy to stop if someone needs help. Suzanne had run out of gas but had managed to get her vehicle started again and maneuver it across the highway to the shoulder. Dozens of people stared at her as they went by, but not one stopped.

I took her to the nearest gas station, but since the power was out they couldn't pump gas. As we were sitting there wondering what to do, a man rolled down his window and told us to go to the New Baltimore rest stop, which is about 20 minutes south of Albany on I-87, because they had power. But first we tried his earlier suggestion, which was to go across the road to the Thruway Authority to see if they had any gas they could spare us. No luck. Twenty minutes later we were in line at the gas pumps in New Baltimore. We got our little plastic container filled up and headed back to Albany.

Along the way we talked animatedly about this and that, and Suzanne brought up the subject of "paying it forward". She asked me if I had seen the movie Pay It Forward, and I had, so we began discussing it. For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, the concept of 'paying it forward' refers to when the recipient of an act of kindness chooses to go out do an act of kindness for another person, thereby consciously continuing the ripple effect of the kindness. We both recognized that our current situation was an opportunity to do that very thing.

When we got back to her car, which took a while because of the side of the road it was parked on in relation to the direction we were heading, her vehicle was still there. (She was worried that it might have been towed while we were away getting gas.)

Moments later she was trying to put the gas into the tank and was having a hard time. Meanwhile I had pulled in front of her vehicle and was sitting inside my car. Suddenly I realized I should have stayed behind her to protect her from oncoming traffic. However, when I looked back, I noticed another car had pulled in behind her at a safe distance and was flagging people around her. The driver stuck her head out the window and called to us. I ran over to them to see what they were trying to say. They turned out to be two women. The driver said she knew someone who had died doing just what we were doing, so she wanted to protect us. I ran back to Suzanne and told her what was going on, since she was wondering, too. We both agreed that the women’s action was also “paying it forward”.

After a few more minutes Suzanne had finally gotten as much gas into her tank as she could from the very small and oddly angled container that was probably made to fuel a lawn mower rather than a car, and I followed her back to the Mobil station to see if they had power yet. What she had been able to get into her gas tank was barely enough to get her to her home in the hill towns southwest of Albany, and she was worried.

Unfortunately, the gas station still had no power. We decided that she would drive slowly with no air conditioning, radio or lights to minimize the draw of energy from the battery, and we would cross our fingers. She had her cell phone with her and her boyfriend is a mechanic, so she felt comfortable letting me go.

I had no way of knowing for sure, but presumably she got home safely. It was heartwarming to be at the right place at just the right time and thus to be able to help someone in need. And, to paraphrase the old saying, to be a friend in deed.