From the Roadshow archives: Being thankful for the kindness and heroism in others

These stories helped Mr. Roadshow share some holiday good cheer even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

Mr. Roadshow wanted to share some of his favorite columns and stories from his more than 30 years of informing, entertaining, and changing things for drivers in the Bay Area (and beyond). He’ll be back on the road soon with new material. Meanwhile, please continue to send Mr. Roadshow your comments and questions to mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com. This story was originally published on November 26, 2020.

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. We’ll find a way to enjoy it even during this terrible pandemic, as long as we don’t gather in large groups to celebrate and feast as we normally would. So here’s some good cheer and stories to honor those who have done good and heroic things.

AT A BART STATION, TWO HEROES A young woman left a bag at the San Francisco BART Powell Street station. She slipped off the platform onto the tracks below when she leaned to pick it up. An unidentified man jumped onto the rail line to assist her in returning to the platform. He couldn’t lift her to safety by himself, so a second man jumped down to assist. They worked together to get her back onto the platform. Matt-the-Roadshow-Son was the second hero who helped lift the woman to safety. Jan and I are relieved you are safe and proud of you for preventing a tragedy in this dangerous situation.

OLLIE AND ALEX This is from the Almanac Express, a fantastic source of local news on the Peninsula that discovered Alex Roginski, who would be a freshman at UC Santa Barbara in non-COVID-19 times. Instead, he’s been doing remote learning from his Menlo Park home during the pandemic, and when he’s not busy with school, he’s not messing around. Instead, he rides his bike around Menlo Park and Redwood City streets for two hours every day, towing a trailer, a trash picker-upper, and his Jack Russell terrier, Ollie. “I like finding a really dirty street and cleaning it,” Roginski explained to the Express. “What I’ve discovered is that the routes I cleaned a few weeks ago are still pretty clean.” It appears to be the right thing to do.” Keep it up, young man. And best of luck in school.

A CHILD WHO MIGHT HAVE SAVED LIVES After getting into a verbal altercation with children at the park and driving away in a Volvo station wagon, a man who drove to the Monte Family Skate Park in Capitola last month was reported to CHP as being under the influence. Who is the hero? A quick-thinking 14-year-old at the park called the CHP and provided a description of the vehicle and license plate, which assisted in locating the driver, who was passed out in his car at the 76 gas station in Aptos. The driver was arrested by the CHP on suspicion of DUI. They refused to reveal the identity of the 14-year-old who may testify at the trial. The boy may have saved lives, including that of the driver.