Seinfeld in real life: Submit your good Samaritan fails

Sometimes when we try to help we make things worse.

Remember the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gives a handicapped woman a wheelchair? A 5-year-old Elizabeth boy had a similar experience this week, fortunately with a better (or "bizarro") ending.

Elmora Pharmacy employee Ben Hertz made sure little Andrew Pacheco received a new wheelchair after thieves snatched his only means of transportation. Thankfully for Pacheco, the gift was custom made (unlike Kramer's cheap, faulty purchase) and saved his parents thousands of dollars on a replacement.

But as with Seinfeld story lines, things don't always end well when we try to help people. Sometimes our good intentions just go awry.

For example, in high school I went on a mission trip to Madagascar and was talking to a man in a very poor rural village. Mid conversation I casually leaned up against a stone wall outside his house, and the thing unexpectedly crumbled like a sand castle. Talk about awkward. I felt terrible.

Have you ever tried to help someone, only to make things worse? Share your good Samaritan fails in the comments section below, or by tweeting @nj1015.