From flooded property to being stranded in cars for hours, there’s no question this severe weather parked over South Florida for days has tested a lot of people’s patience.
It’s also tested humanity.
This is an uplifting story about a 30-year-old stranger helping a 67-year-old stranger.
A photo of a woman piggybacking on a stranger is a snapshot of what it means to be a good human.
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“His hospitality, his kindness, offering me that kind of assistance and carrying me, carrying me really," said the woman in the photo, Donna Silverthorn.
FLOODING IN SOUTH FLORIDA
The 67-year-old received the piggyback ride from a complete stranger after being stranded in her car in Miami Beach because of torrential flooding.
"At 8:30 at night I was in the car since a quarter to six and this man was out there and I said, 'hello, how are you doing?' He said, 'how about this?' I said, 'I know, I know,'" Silverthorn said. "He says, 'listen, I have a plan. I live a half mile away. I’m gonna get my car on the median. And then I'm going to walk. And if you want to join me you’re welcome to join me.' So I thought about it and I said, ‘yeah. You know what, I will.'"
Silverthorn accepted because she already had a rough day and was considering sleeping in her car. She was trying to get home to Dania Beach after taking her sister who has melanoma to the emergency room.
“We find out she has pneumonia, she has a small blood clot on her lung and her enzymes are so high in her heart that she’s about to have a heart attack," Silverthorn said.
The man who helped Silverthorn, 30-year-old Donahue Peebles III, didn’t just help her from being stranded, he invited her into his home, offered her food and the guest room to stay in. And since Silverthorn is a retired chef, she cooked for Peebles and they drank a bottle of wine, forming a new friendship that will last a lifetime.
"I think people ultimately come together in challenging circumstances," Peebles said. "I think the worst circumstances bring the best out of people and she and I went through something incredibly difficult together. It was uncomfortable, unpleasant, there was a lot of uncertainty that was going on and I think that brings people closer."
“And finding out in all this awful flood stuff and how people can be sometime there you go, you have a hero walking around," Silverthorn said.
“Oh no. I did what anybody else would do in that circumstance. Saw somebody in trouble stepped in opened my doors and we got closer," Peebles said. "I think the salmon and the sautéed broccoli and the rice more than made up for the piggyback ride."
Silverthorn said she’s already planning to have Peebles over for dinner in the near future.
