One day I was walking home from work. There was lying a man on the pavement, unconcious. I saw him from a distance. A lot of people were just walking past him, no one did stop or even pay any attention to him. Maybe he had just passed out because of drinking too much. Or used drugs. Who knows. But there he was. Someone's son, father, husband, boyfriend or ex.
I was walking closer. A man on a bike had stopped. He had his phone in his hand, still hesitating. Another man turned around with his bike and stopped too. They started to discuss with each other, who of them shoud call 911. The other said " I have to go to the lecture, can you handle this?" Silence. Luckily (for the man lying on the ground) some passenger stopped to feel his pulse. And a women stopped with her car and asked: "Has somebody called?". This all happened while I was approaching the place. If someone else hadn't called, I would have done it.
How much time did pass before someone stopped, or someone called? To act in situations like this is not easy, unless you have the training for it. Of course, anyone knows how to call 911. Just the thought, that you would be lying there on the ground and not getting help fast enough is scary.
And the thought, that everyone has a story, a past and a future.
