When I hear things like this, it brings home how much things have changed. I've traveled over quite a lot of the U.S., from CA to ME, and if I had trouble, or was even stopped to let the dog out, someone would at least slow down and yell, "Are you okay?"

I read a book called Australian Adventure by an American naturalist who drove around Australia with her two teenaged daughters in the 1970s (before the Stuart Hwy was paved). In the outback, it was considered bad form to pass anyone who was stopped by the side of the road without checking on them. Everyone considered it their duty to watch out for each other.

The woman would see a vehicle under a tree or beside a tank, and they would stop and yell (in their newly-acquired Aussie accents), "Are you roight?" And the guys would wave and yell back, "Yeah, we're roight! Ta!"

It's a pity that we've reached a point in our 'civilized' society where almost all our decisions regarding other people are based on fear.

Sue