This is a story from 28 years ago. My dad was a used car salesman. Every Thursday night, he would head off to Shreveport, LA for an auction  . Most of the time, I drove a car over there for him so he could sell it at the auction. One day I was riding with my dad when he noticed a hitch-hiker  with a backpack. Without hesitation, he pulled the car over and offered him a ride. Dad asked him his name, and proceeded to talk to him about all sorts of things. Dad asked him where he was going. The hitch-hiker told him that he was heading for the west. I can't recall why but he told Dad a lot of things that had occurred to him and that persuaded him to make _ . He talked about the tragic events that occurred to him several years before. He was low in spirits, but t could see that the hitch-hiker's attitude was changing as someone was really listening to him. We drove 45 minutes before the hitch-hiker got off. We pulled over and Dad told him to keep his head up and things would start looking up for him soon. He reached into his pocket and handed the hitch-hiker a twenty-dollar bill. The guy smiled. He nearly lit up right there on the cold, dark highway. We drove on and my dad did not say a single thing. I was still completely amazed by what I had just witnessed. I was always told by everyone never to pick up a hitch-hiker and yet my dad did it every single time he saw one. While reflecting upon that story I came to understand that just one single kind act could change someone's life, and I am sure that my father's deed made that poor man's day. What made the hitch-hiker become less upset?
The writer's father offering him a free ride. The writer's father really listening to him. The writer's father agreeing to drive him to his destination. The writer's father talking to him about all sorts of things.