Motivation Mojo > Good Samaritan

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When I was a commentator covering the NBA playoffs for the NBA on NBC, my field producer, Pete Radovich, and I traveled countless miles to report on games in a half-dozen cities. Between the wild crowds and bright lights and intense playoff action, we experienced a lot of down time. And without fail, whether we were in an airport or restaurant or hotel lobby, we would marvel at the courtesy—or lack thereof—of our fellow Americans.

Since Pete and I are such avid people watchers, we turned our observations into a game that we called, “Find Today’s Best Good Samaritan.”
It was not as easy as it sounds.

Most days, we’d spy people performing simple tasks like holding the door or assisting with the retrieval of luggage from the overhead compartment.
Occasionally we’d see someone engaged in the unusual act of assisting a stranded motorist.

But mostly, we saw men and women whose only concern was protecting their own miniscule space on this third rock from the sun. They were not interested in anything other than to get where they were going, so get out of their way!

One off day, when there was not a Good Samaritan to be found, Pete told me an amazing story of someone who could have been a candidate for Good Samaritan of the Year. He was speaking of his wife, Nancy.

One night, as she waited at JFK Airport for Pete to arrive from a game in Portland, she saw a group of men load their luggage into a van and then quickly pull away. In their wake, Nancy noticed they had left something stranded on the luggage cart. She got out to investigate and realized it was a leather portfolio containing someone’s personal life story: cellular phone, keys, credit cards, a sailor book, airline ticket, and passport.

This oversight was going to be that someone’s personal nightmare.

When Pete arrived, Nancy showed him the portfolio and explained what she had seen. After further examination, Pete concluded that the portfolio’s owner was a 21-year-old Norwegian sailor who was returning home from working on a ship in the Caribbean. He had landed at JFK and was transferring to Newark Airport for his flight to Norway.

Or, at least, that’s what he thought.

Upon even closer inspection, Pete discovered a hidden compartment from which he removed 71 one-hundred-dollar bills—that’s $7,100 in cash! Finders keepers, right?

Pete admitted that, naturally, the thought of keeping the money crossed his mind. They could just return the portfolio’s contents to the airline, which would then track down the sailor and help him get safely home.

As Pete fingered the cash, Nancy painted a picture of a 21-year-old kid who had just lost his entire paycheck and all forms of identity and was stranded in a foreign country with nothing but a world of trouble. Nancy inspired her husband—battle-weary from an extra-long day—to step on the gas and drive to Newark Airport in hopes of finding the lost soul.

Along the way they let their minds wander through the many ways they could spend their newfound treasure. When they arrived at the Scandinavian Airline counter, Pete and Nancy noticed a young man, obviously a wreck, being consoled by his friends.

“Stefan?” Pete said. “I think you forgot something.”

The sailor’s eyes widened like saucers as Pete pulled out the portfolio. “How? Where? I don’t understand….”

After some small talk and an emotional goodbye, Pete and Nancy turned to go.

“Wait!” Stefan said, and thrust a wad of bills into Pete’s reluctant hand. “I insist … and thanks again!”

It was a $1,000. And as of the next morning, it was the best $1,000 that Pete and Nancy ever spent! -- PC