The strangers who guided her home — and returned with Christmas dinner : NPR
Mary Klein today.
Marie Klein
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Marie Klein
In 1989, Mary Klein had just moved to Phoenix. She was alone in a town where she didn’t know anyone yet. On Christmas Eve, she decided to go see a movie to cheer herself up. As she walked back into the dark, she became disoriented.
“And the more turns I made, the more I turned around,” Klein said. “I drove and I drove and I went around in circles.”
Finally, she pulled over to the side of the road and started looking at her map.
“But honestly, I had no idea where I was,” Klein said. “And there was nothing but desert around me. So I just let out a good cry of self-pity.”
Then she saw headlights approaching behind her – a car slowing to a stop. A couple came to her window and asked if she was okay.
“And I said, ‘I’m fine,’” Klein recalled. “But I was lost and I couldn’t find my way home. And the woman got in the car with me and said, ‘We’re going to take you home, honey. My husband is going to follow us.'”
They drove her through Phoenix. It turned out she was on the other side of town from where she thought she was.
“And they came to my house. They made sure I was OK. They gave me hugs and they said good night and Merry Christmas,” Klein said.
The couple left her their phone number and told her to call if she needed anything. They also asked her if she would come home for Christmas. Klein told them she was.
The next day, around noon, she heard a knock on her door.
“I opened the door and there was the same couple I had met the day before with a picnic basket full of food,” Klein recalled. “And they set the table and brought out all their dishes. And they ate green beans and mashed potatoes and beef and corn and they sat down and shared their Christmas dinner with me.”
Later, the couple helped her clean up – they cleared the table and washed the dishes together.
“And we talked all afternoon,” Klein said. “The fact that they did this at Christmas – when I’m sure they have their own traditions and their own families – to spend this time with me as a total stranger really, really touched my heart.”
Nearly 40 years later, inspired by their example, Klein still looks for opportunities to connect with others who might be spending the holidays alone.
“I try to look for this every holiday season and, frankly, every day of my life — it’s had a profound impact on me,” Klein said.
“Honestly, it was probably one of the loneliest moments I’ve ever felt in my life. And to have someone come to my rescue who was a complete stranger was very profound.”
My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes come out every Tuesday. To share your unsung hero’s story with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
