From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

Hello, my Unsung Hero story is from a doctor I heard over 30 years ago.

He was a Unsung Hero because he rarely got any recognition for his huge heart and his unselfish

actions.

You mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough.

Today's story comes from Justin Horner.

In 2010, Justin was driving down a busy freeway in Portland, Oregon,

when his tire blew out.

He pulled over to the side of the road,

made a sign that said he needed help, and waited.

Three hours later, right as he was about to try to hitchhike,

a van pulled up.

And outbounded, I guess what I would call my unsung heroes.

It was a migrant working family, agricultural family that was in Oregon picking fruit.

And they didn't speak any English, save for their youngest daughter, who was probably like five or six.

She spoke a bit of English, and they just immediately set about helping.

The father found a log on the side of the road, sought a chunk out of it, and used it to lift the car.

He gave Justin his lug wrench to remove the busted wheel. But the wrench was flimsy, and before he knew it, it was broken.

I just cheered the head clean off of it. And the guy just took it from me, and he immediately

gave it to his wife.

They had a short conversation and she got in the van and took off.

...