By Jim Hourihan, Sea Bright NJ, October 8, 2019 — Once a long, long time ago on the long and winding road of my working career I was a limousine driver. Driving clients from the Jersey Shore to Manhattan on a regular basis to go shopping, to go to shows, dinner dates, or bar hopping. It was a fun and exciting work experience that allowed me the opportunity to meet a lot of different celebrities.
Well, one night during this experience, it was one very hot and humid August night. I was driving a group of clients, club to club, restaurant to restaurant. The limo kept overheating because of having to keep the air on for the clients. What could have been a nice night started to turn. Over 8 hours, from 4 pm-12 am, I was driving them all over the place. The limo ended up breaking down because it overheated. I was unable to get in touch with my boss and the clients left me there and found another way home. Because the car overheated and the AC was constantly running, the battery ended up dying. I tried asking a taxi for a jump and they said that it would be $50. Then I saw a tow truck and asked them if they could give me a jump, they said it would be $100. New York City Police kept telling me I needed to move the limo, so I asked them for a jump and they said no. I was parked in front of the Essex Hotel, the hood of the limo open with jumper cables hoping that someone would be kind enough to give me a jump.
While smoking a cigarette on the trunk of the car, I used to smoke back then, along came a stranger that fit all the stereotypes of a homeless street person. He approached me asking for a cigarette, but I was unable to understand what he was asking for. I thought he was drunk but he had an injury that caused him to stagger as he was walking. I realized that he wasn’t drunk, he was deaf and trying to communicate with me. As luck would have it, being a limo driver leaves one with a lot of times on her hands. To fill that time I would sit in the back of the limo and study sign language (I had an ASL book in my backpack). After determining he was deaf, I sign to him asking if he was able to sign. At this point he became a different person, more animated, signing so fast I couldn’t understand. I gave him a few cigarettes and the couple bucks I had in my pocket and we both signed goodbye. About 15 minutes later, here comes the savior of my hot humid night, with a battery. I was able to jump-start the limo and drive out of the city. Random acts of kindness, but I still don’t know where he got that battery.