Ethical dilemma: your teenage son is out for the evening and on his way home when he sees a woman with a flat tire. Does he stop to help her, knowing he’ll be late for curfew if he does, or does he keep going so he’s not late?

This past Sunday I met my pal Sandi and her daughter for a movie (Becoming Jane, in keeping with my recent blog), after which we discovered my car had a flat tire. Sandi’s been in a similar situation with me before, but this time we were thankful to be in a parking lot, not on the side of a freeway. As I began hauling out items from the trunk to get to my spare tire, a 40- or 50-something man and his wife walked up and offered to help. No fool am I, I accepted immediately. Sandi was able to leave for her next engagement, knowing I was in good hands.

As Robert from Rockwall–yes, I have forgotten his last name–worked, I chatted with his wife Annie. I mentioned that he seemed to know what he was doing, and she told me that he was a Boy Scout leader. He overheard this and began to chuckle. Apparently he had led a seminar last week that discussed ethical dilemmas. Boy Scouts are taught to “do the right thing always.” What’s the right thing? They came up with the situation I mentioned at the beginning–be on time, or be late due to helping someone?

It’s so nice to know there are people who practice what they preach.