Pushing Car

Thursday, July 27, 2008

In the States, if you are driving a car that is more than 5 years old, it is often times thought that you need to get a new one. In Senegal, if you are driving a car that isn’t 25 years or older and only has a working engine and wheels, then you are not in the cool crowd.

Often times, you will see people having to push cars here to get them started and going. Rarely do we see this in the States, but it is a daily occurrence here. A lot of times, it is one or two people pushing. For the past few months, I have been fascinated by this and come to the realization that I need some action.

My fascination turned into a reality today. I had just gotten out of a car rapide and was walking to catch another car home, when I saw a man pushing his car up a bridge. Another guy on his bike stopped to help. I didn’t know what to do, but realized that this was my chance. I had my book bag on, stuffed to the brim as well as my sandals on, but neither stopped me. Running across the on-ramp, a car nearly clipped me, but that was cool. I would nearly compare my running and determination to the opening of Baywatch, when the cast is running into the ocean, but take away the beach, the gorgeous girls and music, put my head on that of David Hasselhoff’s body, and throw a car on the road that needs to be saved.

Finally, in my shinning moment I helped push this beast of a car up the bridge until it reached its crest and the car had started. It was a proud moment for myself. This may not be something that some people get excited about, but I think I will probably remember this moment for a long time.