A note on the windshield and a good deed that made this mom's day

When Kayla Lazzaro saw the note under her windshield wiper, she feared someone hit her car. She was in for a pleasant surprise.

'I'm surprised people are surprised,' says Rod Taaffe, insisting he did nothing special

CBC News Posted: Jan 08, 2019 11:00 AM EST | Last Updated: January 8, 2019

Rod Taaffe insists he didn't do anything special when he inflated a stranger's flat tire, but grateful recipient of the kind deed, Kayla Lazzaro, says it meant a lot. (Zach Goudie/CBC)

Kayla Lazzaro was making her way through the Twin Rinks parking lot in St. John's with her husband, her son, and armloads of hockey gear when she noticed the papertucked under her windshield wiper.

The thought was instant: "Ugh, someone hit my car."

Preparing to have her Saturday ruined, Lazzaro opened the note and read.

A note tucked under a windshield wiper is seldom good news. Kayla Lazzaro was prepared for the worst. (Sumbitted)

"[Your] rear passenger tire was was flat so I blew it up for you. You may want to get it checked out."

Lazzaro was astonished; she didn't even know she had a flat.

I'm surprised that everyone's so surprised. Why wouldn't you do it?- Rod Taaffe

"I was so shocked. First I called my mom," she told CBC Radio'sSt. John's Morning Show, "and then I cried."

A grateful Lazzaro set out on social media to find the man who signed his name to the note: Rod Taaffe.

Through mutual Facebook friends,LazzarofoundTaaffeand thanked him online.

And on Tuesday, they got to meet.

"People like you need to be recognized," Lazzaro tells Taaffe:

The moment a grateful mom met her Good Samaritan helper

6 years ago

1:22

After posting about Rod Taaffe's good deed on Facebook, Kayla Lazzaro got to meet the man who inflated her flat tire.

'I was raised right'

Lazzaro and her family were at the rink for only about 90 minutes. During thattime, Taaffe wasoutside, waiting for his son.

When he saw the flat, there was no question he was going to do something to help it was just a matter of figuring out what.

Rod Taaffe credits his parents to raising him right, especially his mother, who bought him the air compressor he keeps in his vehicle. (CBC)

"I said, 'Well, I don't know who this person is;it'll take me long time to go find her. I got a compressor in my car I'll just blow it up,'" he told CBC.

Taaffe left the note so Lazzaro would know to get her tire checked out but he worried about it.

"She's going to think that somebody banged into her car," he thought.

Taaffe insists there's nothing extraordinary about his good deed, but when pressed he gave credit to his parents.

"It's just I was raised right. Kudos to my folks, for sure," he said.

Lazzaro was at Twin Rinks in St. John's with her son, Thomas, and her husband. She had no idea she had a flat tire. (Submitted)

But the overwhelming response of people saying he did an unusually good deed was a shock for Taaffe.

"Totally did not expect it, obviously. I was just standing there, looking, oh she's got a flat tire. It was like, I've got a compressor, I'll just fill it up," he said.

"I'm surprised that everyone's so surprised. Why wouldn't you do it? That's my answer I guess."

The two families will probably see each other often in the years to come; Lazzaro'sfour-year-old son is just learning to skate, while Taaffe's son is becoming a mentor.

Taaffe and Lazzaro's sons are far apart in age, but skate at the same rink, so the families will likely see each other for years to come. (CBC)

So by next year, Taaffe's son will probably be teaching Lazzaro's.

Taffee said he's just happy to brighten someone's day.

"I guess there's so much doom and gloom that you hear about there should be a good news segment, the last 10 minutes of every broadcast should be good news stories, leave you on a good note, you know?"

Even if it means he has to make that good news himself.

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