Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Man’s Sentimental Longboard Went Missing – Strangers Bought Him a New One

It is stories like these that restore my faith in humanity!

Tyr Nemean took to The (un)Official City of Portsmouth Facebook group to ask about his missing longboard. He left it outside Cabot Street Market and when he went back for it he noticed it was gone. The board meant a lot to Tyr as it belonged to his younger brother. He has a seizure disorder and doesn't have a car so the board is his sole means of transportation. He and this board have some fond memories. Tyr rode it from Newmarket, New Hampshire, to New Jersey back in 2016.

Tyr has had a tough life. He was raised in an abusive household and moved out when he was 18. He has been on his own ever since and has dealt with some hardships like not knowing where his next meal is going to come from and having to sleep under a bridge. He was not posting on this community page asking for assistance. As he says, "That is not my forte".

Enter, Justin Pike! Justin popped in on the comment thread and asked Tyr if he could pitch in and help him buy a new board. Tyr was of course over the moon and just like that more and more people slid in to ask how they could help. Justin took the reins and called Ryder Street Co. in Dover to coordinate. Everyone who wanted to help was told to call the store and pitch in whatever amount they felt comfortable with. It didn't take long for the donations to amount to the price of a brand new board.

Yesterday Justin met Tyr for the first time and delivered him his sweet new ride:

Tyr will be riding to work in style thanks to the selflessness and generosity of Justin, Ryder Street Company (who also pitched in) and a bunch of other kind folks.

When I asked Justin what prompted this random act of kindness he said:

“these last couple years have been trying and tense…to take the opportunity to make a positive impact on someone’s life while asking for nothing is return is something we should all try to do…and I am proud to live in a community that responded so quickly and did just that”