Thank You, Stranger: Four friends reunite thanks to ‘Minnesota Nice’
A rainbow rises over the South Arm of Knife Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in July 2021.
Dan Kraker | MPR News
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Our “Thank You, Stranger” series is about the people who come into our lives and lend a little support, maybe make our days a little brighter.
This time, we’ll hear about a young group of friends who wanted to take a trip together — and the Minnesotans who made it possible. Tom Johnson told his story to MPR News producer Alanna Elder.
Thank You, Stranger is our series about unexpected kindness in our lives. If you have a story to share about a stranger who made your life a little brighter, we want to hear it.
Contact us at minnesotanow@mpr.org or (612) 361-1252.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Time, friends, for another story in our series, Thank You, Stranger, about people who make an extra effort to help us out or lift us up. This time, we're going to hear about a young group of friends who wanted to take a trip together and the Minnesotans who made it possible. MPR producer Alanna Elder has this story from Tom Johnson.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ALANNA ELDER: Tom spent the first eight years of his life in Crosby-Ironton, near Brainerd, Minnesota.
TOM JOHNSON: So as a kid, my dad took me fishing all the time and to the beach and so forth, all the wonderful recreational opportunities that Minnesota has. When I was in third grade, my father was killed in a car accident. My mom had three sisters living in New Jersey, very close to one another. And so we moved to New Jersey, a place called Ocean Township.
And of course, I developed friendships and so forth from kids I met there through ball teams and classes and so forth. And off to college we went. And I believe one summer, I came back home to New Jersey and ran into a few of my friends. And I invited them to come to Minnesota.
ALANNA ELDER: Tom had a spot in mind. In college, he'd rented a houseboat way up north on Birch Lake, near the town of Babbitt. He planned to take his friends there to fish, but first, they had to fly in from Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New Jersey.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TOM JOHNSON: Now, at the time, the only vehicle I had was a pickup truck, just one seat. It wasn't a full cab by any means. So I was wondering, how am I going to come back with four adults in my truck? Well, I was a teacher at a small school here, and a fifth grade teacher offered to lend me her van when I went down to the airport to pick these three friends up. And so, I mean, great. I traded. I said, here's my truck if you need it. And I took her van, started heading down towards the airport.
ALANNA ELDER: He wanted to make one detour first. Tom was a track coach, and the state tournament was happening in Blaine, so he planned to just swing by for a T-shirt.
TOM JOHNSON: And so I did. I pulled in the National Sports Center, bought my T-shirt, and I was ready to head back towards the airport. Well, the van didn't start. But the only thing I know about cars is how to change the oil. [LAUGHS] Of course, this is also before cell phones. So I'm like, what the heck am I going to do? Well, first of all, I can't leave my colleague's van sitting in the parking lot.
So one of the workers at the stadium called for a tow truck. And when the tow truck came, the guy said, well, where do you want me to drop you off? I said, well, someplace where I can use a phone. It's the only answer I gave. But I wish I could remember the name of this bar that he dropped me off at. So, and I go, and I don't have a plan at all.
And fortunately, it wasn't very crowded, 'cause it was early afternoon, as I recall. I started kind of crying in my beer to the bartender, like, what can I do? How much do you think it would cost to take a taxi to the airport? Blah, blah, blah. And this kind of went back and forth for a while. And finally, the guy threw me his car keys, and he says, I get off at 6:00. Be back by then. [LAUGHS]
So I got to the airport in time. I met all three of my friends and went down to pick up their luggage and explained to them what had happened, and that we now have to rent a car because the vehicle I got here with doesn't belong to me. And as I was telling the story, one of my friends who goes, I've heard about this Minnesota nice. This must be what they're talking about. I said, yeah, absolutely.
My friends in the rented car and I headed back to Blaine, where we dropped the car keys off to the bartender. And we tried really hard to invite him on this fishing trip we were going to take.
ALANNA ELDER: The bartender declined, and in all the excitement, Tom didn't think to get his contact information, but he and his three friends made it to the lake.
TOM JOHNSON: Went on the fishing trip, caught a lot of fish. The weather was great. I guess it's the end of the story, although I've always been a type of person that would help people. But I think the fact that this guy did this inspired me to maybe go the extra mile in helping people whenever I run into them.
Another Minnesota nice, Mrs. Nelson, my colleague who owned the van, when I told her what had happened, she offered to pay me for any of the extra expenses for renting the car. I said, absolutely not.
ALANNA ELDER: Tom is still in touch with those three friends. And they've told this story, too.
TOM JOHNSON: They went back to Atlanta and DC and to New Jersey and shared what had happened on this trip. And [LAUGHS] everybody's jaw just dropped.
CATHY WURZER: That story was produced by Ellen Finn and Alanna Elder. If you have a story about kindness from a stranger, we want to hear it. Email us at minnesotanow@npr.org, or you can call and leave a voicemail at 6' 612-361-1252.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ALANNA ELDER: Tom spent the first eight years of his life in Crosby-Ironton, near Brainerd, Minnesota.
TOM JOHNSON: So as a kid, my dad took me fishing all the time and to the beach and so forth, all the wonderful recreational opportunities that Minnesota has. When I was in third grade, my father was killed in a car accident. My mom had three sisters living in New Jersey, very close to one another. And so we moved to New Jersey, a place called Ocean Township.
And of course, I developed friendships and so forth from kids I met there through ball teams and classes and so forth. And off to college we went. And I believe one summer, I came back home to New Jersey and ran into a few of my friends. And I invited them to come to Minnesota.
ALANNA ELDER: Tom had a spot in mind. In college, he'd rented a houseboat way up north on Birch Lake, near the town of Babbitt. He planned to take his friends there to fish, but first, they had to fly in from Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New Jersey.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TOM JOHNSON: Now, at the time, the only vehicle I had was a pickup truck, just one seat. It wasn't a full cab by any means. So I was wondering, how am I going to come back with four adults in my truck? Well, I was a teacher at a small school here, and a fifth grade teacher offered to lend me her van when I went down to the airport to pick these three friends up. And so, I mean, great. I traded. I said, here's my truck if you need it. And I took her van, started heading down towards the airport.
ALANNA ELDER: He wanted to make one detour first. Tom was a track coach, and the state tournament was happening in Blaine, so he planned to just swing by for a T-shirt.
TOM JOHNSON: And so I did. I pulled in the National Sports Center, bought my T-shirt, and I was ready to head back towards the airport. Well, the van didn't start. But the only thing I know about cars is how to change the oil. [LAUGHS] Of course, this is also before cell phones. So I'm like, what the heck am I going to do? Well, first of all, I can't leave my colleague's van sitting in the parking lot.
So one of the workers at the stadium called for a tow truck. And when the tow truck came, the guy said, well, where do you want me to drop you off? I said, well, someplace where I can use a phone. It's the only answer I gave. But I wish I could remember the name of this bar that he dropped me off at. So, and I go, and I don't have a plan at all.
And fortunately, it wasn't very crowded, 'cause it was early afternoon, as I recall. I started kind of crying in my beer to the bartender, like, what can I do? How much do you think it would cost to take a taxi to the airport? Blah, blah, blah. And this kind of went back and forth for a while. And finally, the guy threw me his car keys, and he says, I get off at 6:00. Be back by then. [LAUGHS]
So I got to the airport in time. I met all three of my friends and went down to pick up their luggage and explained to them what had happened, and that we now have to rent a car because the vehicle I got here with doesn't belong to me. And as I was telling the story, one of my friends who goes, I've heard about this Minnesota nice. This must be what they're talking about. I said, yeah, absolutely.
My friends in the rented car and I headed back to Blaine, where we dropped the car keys off to the bartender. And we tried really hard to invite him on this fishing trip we were going to take.
ALANNA ELDER: The bartender declined, and in all the excitement, Tom didn't think to get his contact information, but he and his three friends made it to the lake.
TOM JOHNSON: Went on the fishing trip, caught a lot of fish. The weather was great. I guess it's the end of the story, although I've always been a type of person that would help people. But I think the fact that this guy did this inspired me to maybe go the extra mile in helping people whenever I run into them.
Another Minnesota nice, Mrs. Nelson, my colleague who owned the van, when I told her what had happened, she offered to pay me for any of the extra expenses for renting the car. I said, absolutely not.
ALANNA ELDER: Tom is still in touch with those three friends. And they've told this story, too.
TOM JOHNSON: They went back to Atlanta and DC and to New Jersey and shared what had happened on this trip. And [LAUGHS] everybody's jaw just dropped.
CATHY WURZER: That story was produced by Ellen Finn and Alanna Elder. If you have a story about kindness from a stranger, we want to hear it. Email us at minnesotanow@npr.org, or you can call and leave a voicemail at 6' 612-361-1252.
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