Trust and A Good Deed

When I lived in Texas, one of the places I used to railfan was in central Fort Worth. This is where many railroad lines converge and is therefore a very busy spot for those who like to photograph trains. One time in the early 90’s I drove to the Broadway Street railroad crossing (13 tracks, I think). From here you could see trains from multiple railroads while remaining off of railroad property. I sat on a concrete stoop by a nearby building.

One Saturday or Sunday, I met another guy there who was doing the same thing. He actually had ridden his bicycle to this location which I thought was odd given the location. We talked about our common interest in railroads and enjoyed the trains when they came by. I had brought a video camera with me to capture some trains belonging to Union Pacific, Burlington Northern, and Southern Pacific.

The neighborhood was not particularly good in this area. It’s not unusual to find seedy looking buildings and questionable people in areas like this and that is what you would find here, too. After an hour or so, an African American man came walking up and said that he needed help. He had no money and no place to stay. I had to make a decision about what to do.

I asked him what he needed. He said he needed enough money to stay in a not-so-nearby place and he also hoped for a ride back there. I wondered how much of a risk I was taking but nevertheless, I offered to help him. I opened up my car which was parked nearby and I put my expensive camcorder in the trunk.

He directed me to a particular house that was about 3 miles away. He told me his story of how he had just arrived from Mississippi. He came to Fort Worth for a job but his truck had broken down and he had arrived late. He was supposed to have met his boss at a particular location but when he finally got there, there was no sign of his new boss. So, he was out of money with no place to stay. He had a wife and baby and they had no food. He set off on foot to find some help and had quite an adventure himself like getting turned away from places that you’d think would have helped him. He was threatened with a gun at one place he had tried.

He told me that his name was Anthony. He was desperate enough to offer to give me his truck in exchange for some money that he could use to stay overnight at a house he had found as well as to get some food for the baby. I gave him, I think, $20 which was most of what I had with me. He said he would repay me so I gave him my address.

He never did repay me but I didn’t really expect it from him nor do I hold it against him. I felt good about having helped out someone in need. I felt bad trusting him only so far when we first met. That’s why I had put the camcorder in the trunk, after all.

I went back to Fort Worth the next week to the exact same location to photograph some more trains. The fellow with the bicycle was there again. The first thing he asked me was, “Well, was he telling the truth?”