The irony

I had to get up at 3am today to take my kids (daughter and DIL) to the airport for a 6:30am flight. I was in my DIL's car, which I'm not accustomed to driving. I dropped them off, and was on my way home when the car died on the Interstate before I even got out of the city. I think the alternator died because the car had no power...meaning no lights, not even hazards.

It was still dark. I was on the shoulder of the highway with cars whizzing by, trying not to panic. I called 911, and they took all of my info and said they'd send a car to help. I called AAA, with whom I usually have a good experience, but I've never been in this perilous a situation before when calling them. They responded by sending me a link to a website where I had to enter all of my info, including a credit card to guarantee the service. Never did talk to a human.

About an hour later--still no cop--the tow-truck driver arrived. He was very nice. His English wasn't so great, so I practiced what little Spanish I know as he towed the car to the mechanic, about an hour away. He has two kids, a one-year-old and a three-year-old; he's originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, and his mother still lives there. He said it's beautiful there, but dangerous because of the drug trade and the gangs.

During the drive a cop called and said, "Sorry, we had a shift change, and never got out there. Just want to make sure you're okay." Sigh.

So, I know this is a bit reductive, but I can't help thinking that the only person who helped me, and seemed to give a shit about the situation, was this guy with whom I had difficulty communicating because of a language barrier. Was he an undocumented immigrant? I have no idea. Didn't ask. Didn't care. But I shudder to think that he probably has to interact with people who will make that assumption, and disrespect him because of it. And I really shudder to think about him having to interact with cops, who clearly didn't care about the situation I was in, but who might make his life hell because of his possible "status".

Just a thought.