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.

Listeners often write in to ask if we have found the countless unsung heroes talked about on this podcast.

We often have to reply with a disappointing no.

But today on the show, we are pleased to bring you a reunion between one of our

interviewees, Megan Atherton, and her unsung hero, Tony Cranston.

Oh, my goodness, it's wonderful to see you.

Oh, it's wonderful to see you, too.

Megan was going through a particularly difficult time when she met Tony about 15 years ago.

She was in her early 20s, and she and her roommate had just been evicted from their townhouse in Annapolis, Maryland.

Hopeful they'd find a place to stay in Megan's hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The two women packed up their car with all their belongings, including a cat, and headed out.

But not long into the drive, near the town of Ellicott City, their car broke down.

They didn't have enough money to fix it and had no place to stay.

Tony Cranston was at the repair shop and overheard their predicament.

And she offered to take us to Pittsburgh.

The only caveat was that her cat had diabetes,

so she couldn't leave just then. She had to go home and give

him the medication that they needed in the night. So instead of waiting, she took us in,

gave us dinner, and she gave us a place to sleep. And then in the morning, she drove us all the way to

Pittsburgh. Megan could only remember her unsung hero's first name. But one of Tony's

nieces heard Megan's story and reached out to her aunt. My niece kept saying, there can't be two Tonys

...