I am 70 years old, and my 43-year-old son, Scott, and I were on a drive of a lifetime back to Great Falls, Mont., for Scott’s birthday on June 29. On June 27, Scott and I were driving west on Interstate 90 and planned to stop at Albert Lea for the evening meal. As we pulled off the interstate, the brakes failed. Scott was driving, and using the gears, he was able to eventually stop well after the stop sign. We were the only car on the off-ramp. We slowly drove into town and stopped at Flaherty Motors — at 6 p.m. on a Saturday. The place was closed.

We peered in the windows and must have looked very suspect. A young lady in a truck pulled into the car lot and drove slowly by. I approached her with my hat in my hand and asked if she knew anyone who worked at Flaherty’s. I told her the problem, and she said she may be able to contact a mechanic. Fifteen minutes later Sean Flaherty was there calling around for a master cyclinder for the Corvette. One was available the next noon. Sean gave us a loaner, and we settled into a nearby hotel.

At noon the next day we picked up the part and drove to Flaherty Motors, where Sean the night before had removed the old master cyclinder and prepared the car for the new part and bleeding the brakes. At 2 p.m. we were ready to get back on I-90. Sean would not charge us for the work or the use of the loaner. He said he had been in similar situations and no one had offered him assistance. Everyone I tell this story to can scarcely believe it; my wife says that Sean must be an “angel.” The world operates on the “Favor Bank,” and if we deposit it will never go broke like some other types of banks. Thank you to all the kind people we met in Albert Lea and especially to Sean Flaherty.

Albert M. Ferris

CPA

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada