Proof that New Jerseyans get an unjustly bad reputation

New Jerseyans get so much crap for our attitudes, it can sometimes be hard to remember how kind-hearted a lot of us actually are.

Earlier this week, I was reminded of just how giving and helpful people in the Garden State can be.

I was almost home from work. I reached my exit on 195 and stopped on the ramp at the stop sign as usual.

Car trouble strikes on Route 195

Suddenly, my steering wheel wouldn’t budge. It came out of nowhere.

No one was behind me, so I had time to put the car in park to restart it. The wheel still wouldn’t budge, and suddenly icons I had never even seen before in my nine years of owning the car started flashing on the dashboard.

There was nothing I could do with the lack of the steering wheel, so I figured I was *you know what* out of luck.

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A stranger steps in to help

About a minute later, a car pulled up behind me. I heard someone yelling, but couldn’t make out what was being said.

I waved my arm out the window to signal that they should just go around me, but instead, a man got out to help.

He asked what was going on (I was not helpful with answering that). So he got in the car himself and had a knowing look after taking a look.

“Give me two minutes, I’ll be back,” he said in the exact reassuring tone I needed in that moment.

Something about him made me trust that he would, in fact, be back and wasn’t just abandoning me.

I waited outside the car and sure enough, after a few minutes the man was back with something to jump start the car.

The act of kindness continues

He asked how far from home I was and said he would follow behind me to make sure I got there okay.

When we made it to my destination, I tried to give him some beers as a “thank you,” but he wouldn’t take them. He was just an all-around decent guy trying to help out a fellow New Jerseyan.

Despite all the guff that New Jersey gets for being full of sarcastic jerks and hard asses, it’s important to remember that we are a state full of good, caring people.

Thank you to the kind stranger who helped me out.

I don’t know if you’ll actually read this, but if you do, please know that I appreciate you and won’t forget you.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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