Open Letter to Maine Man I Found Pinned Under His Lawn Mower

For starters, the image used for this article is a stock photo, not the actual photo of the lawnmower I encountered.

Additionally, I'll be keeping details very limited in this piece.

I won't tell you who it was or specifically WHERE this happened, because it's not the point of writing this.

Let me begin by saying that one of my biggest pet peeves in life is people who do good deeds for others and use it as an opportunity to film or photograph it so they can share their 'look what I did' moment on social media.

I want to stress that this is not why I'm sharing parts of this story. I'm sharing because I think the big takeaway, for myself included, is to pay attention and double-check when something doesn't seem quite right because you don't know if anyone else will.

The other day, my wife decided she was going to take the kids to her mom's house to go for a swim. I told her I would tag along after I finished up with a work call that I was on. She took off, and I left about twenty minutes behind her.

Because I was going by myself, I decided to take the Harley because, why not, right? I ALSO decided that I should go a way to my mother-in-law's that I NEVER go because it would extend my ride time by about ten minutes. Sneaky, huh?

While I was out in a part of this town that I'm never in, I was riding around a corner when I noticed something strange down in a ditch. As I was riding by I swore I saw the blades of a lawn tractor up in the air. I also thought I could see some white hair sticking out as well.

This is when I decided to hit the brakes and go back. So I did. When I got back, I found that an older gentleman had accidentally rolled his heavy lawn-tractor over, and it had landed on top of him, pinning him underneath.

I quickly asked him a couple questions to make sure he was stable and proceeded to lift enough of the mower up for him to slither out from under it. After that, several other good Samaritans stopped to assist as well.

Shortly after, a family member had pulled up in a car and we were able to get the man up and into the car. A few of us guys then got the mower righted back onto its wheels. The gentleman was so incredibly thankful that several of us had stopped to check on him. He was so very sweet.

Again, the point of sharing this is definitely not to say 'Hey, look what I did', but more to encourage everyone (myself included) to be totally present at the moment, especially when driving. It is so incredibly important to focus on driving/riding and nothing else. And, if something doesn't look right, STOP and check. It could save a life.

To the man from Monday, I hope you are feeling better and I'm glad I decided to take the long way.