i can't remember

the last time i benefited from the kindness of a stranger, but i won't soon forget what happened this afternoon. i was riding my bike - it was a beautiful day out, if not a bit cold - and got a flat at around the 100 north block of chicago. i was coming back having gone up from hyde park into lakeview, but noticed that the bike was getting harder to ride. well, it was clear that my rear tire was losing air, so i started walking. i didn't realize how long it would take, because after about an hour, i was only at the 2500 south block. fortunately, there was an old guy on the side of the trail with a bike and a toolbox and a sign that proclaimed "TIRE FLAT? I'LL FIX IT FOR A TIP" unfortunately, i didn't have any money with me, but i asked him if i could just mail him something. he said that i could just get him the next time i see him, as he's on the trail quite frequently. well, mike fixed my flat - no telling how i got it - apparently, the inner tube is too big for my wheel, and whoever installed it didn't pre-inflate it, causing a bunch of wrinkles to develop in the tube, which rubbed against each other and eventually resulted in the flat. well, mike took the tube out, patched it, inflated it a bit, put the tube back in, and inflated it the rest of the way. what should have been a 1:45 hour ride turned out to be more like 2:45 hours, but it would have been four hours, at least, if i hadn't met my personal good samaritan this afternoon. if i do see him again, i hope i have at least a few bucks on me to thank him with. he was an older guy (late 50s/early 60s), talkative, if not a little bit crazy. he is a bike messenger downtown, which i thought was kinda crazy because most bike messengers are young and punk/hipster. regardless of what or who he is, i appreciated his help this afternoon, when it looked like the rest of my day was ruined.