Last weekend, I went on a golf trip with some friends out on the coast. One of the guys has in-laws with a place right on the water, so we had a free place to stay and access to their boat, too. It was just a simple flat-bottom fishing boat, nothing fancy, but the seven of us (all in our late 30s and early 40s) had a great time cruising around and swimming.

On the way back, the boat died on us. It’s an older boat, and the gas gauge doesn’t work, so my buddy uses this funny “dip stick” method to check the fuel. I guess he thought we had enough. We were completely out of gas and not exactly close to anyone who could help.

After about 10 minutes of floating, we spotted a boat coming our way and flagged them down. It turned out to be two men, likely a father and son, with two young kids onboard. We explained what happened and asked if they could tow us back to our dock. It was a good 30-minute tow, and the sun was starting to set.

Without hesitation, they said yes. They towed us all the way back and didn’t want anything in return. We offered them cash a few times, but they just smiled, refused, and said it was their pleasure.

Such great people. We were incredibly thankful.