Shabbat Sermon: People Remember Those Who are Present with Rav Hazzan Aliza Berger

It was a hot summer day in 2008. Rick Mangnall was driving from his rural trailer home in Three Rivers to work at the Community College in Visalia. Living out in the wilds of California, Rick was used to encounters with wildlife. He was used to scorpions hiding out in his clothing drawers and popping out suddenly to attack. He was quite adept at smashing them. But that day, he didn’t see the scorpion that must have hidden away in his clothes. He didn’t notice it until he was driving down a granite-lined street and suddenly felt the scorpion sting his back. In shock, he jerked the wheel and his car veered off the road, straight into the granite wall, and then went airborne. He landed upside-down, suspended by his seat belt.

Rick remembers that scorpion sting and the accident, but he also remembers a moment which changed his life forever. As he hung from his seatbelt, he saw an old white Ford truck stop across the way. An immigrant man got out of the car and came over to him. He put his hand on Rick’s shoulder and just stood there with him. Rick was worried the guy might get in trouble, he knew the ambulance and police were coming. He tried to tell the guy he could go, but the man clearly couldn’t understand him. He didn’t speak any English. But what he did understand, didn’t require language. He understood that Rick was in a tough spot, and stood there with him, quietly offering support. This year, when Hidden Brain put out a call for unsung heroes, Rick shared this story. A full 13 years after his accident, the moment he still thinks about the most is that man who stood by his side. As he shared on air, “I wish I had thanked him…”