Would you do a good deed?

It's a particularly windy day in the chilly Midwest, and my best friend is driving me to lunch before we head to the airport for my flight home.

When we turn the corner onto one of the thoroughfares in her town, we see a trash can wobbling on its side in the middle of the street -- not necessarily in any car's path, but probably a wind gust away from it.

Cars zoom by in the opposite lane, but no one seems concerned enough to stop and remove the potential hazard.

What would you have done?

Doreen pulled her car over, ran into the middle of the street, and returned the can to the yard from whence it blew.

She didn't want anyone to get hurt, she said. Anyway, she added, good deeds have a way of coming back to you.

What would I have done?

I've come across many a crazy road hazard in the middle of Monroe Road on my way to work or on Randolph Road while taking my kids to school.

I've slowed down. I've swerved. But I've never stopped to move things from the road.

I'll move a branch from the sidewalk when I'm walking. I'll take someone's newspaper to their doorstep, too.

But would I, without a second thought, walk into the road to move something that I didn't leave behind? I don't know if it's fear of getting hurt or the desire not to be inconvenienced that keeps me from making that move.

Maybe I'm missing out on opportunities for good deeds to come back to me.