On the way home from the grocery store, I spot a car sitting on the side of the road with its hazard lights on. As I turn down the street that leads to my house, I notice up ahead a guy walking. I assume that he is the owner of the disabled vehicle. I feel a twinge of pity for him, as it is over 90 degrees outside, but I do not stop.
This is my normal reaction whenever I see a broken down car with its owner stranded. I sympathize but I never stop. As a single woman, I am usually by myself. To say it is unwise to pick up strange men walking on the side of the road would be an understatement, regardless of how unfortunate their situation.
This all brought to mind an incident I experienced some time ago. One rainy--okay, it was pouring--afternoon, while driving in a well-to-do suburb, I passed a luxury vehicle parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights blinking. I approach a man walking in the rain wearing khakis, a dress shirt and a tie.
Despite the serial killer uniform, he looks respectable enough and I contemplate stopping to pick him up. As I slow down, I can see a glimmer of hope on his face as he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. Before coming to a complete stop, I have a change of heart and decide that he looks too much like Ted Bundy. I promptly speed off while watching his shoulders slump with disappointment in my rear view mirror.
I laughed out loud at my unintentional cruelty. It really was brutal to give the impression that I was going to stop only to drive off in my warm, dry and operable vehicle. With good Samaritans like me, who needs enemies?
6 comments:
Well, as you say, you are a single woman, and as such you have to take every precaution to keep yourself safe. Unfortunately, that's the way the world works. Any woman by herself is possible fresh meat for the animals out there.
If thats as bad as you gets, you'll be okay...steve
You said you were in a well-to-do suburb. I am sure he was all right without your help. No reason for you to take any chances.
Unfortunately you are right, you can't take chances with strange people. They could be maniacs!
That's nothing. Some of my friends from way back would have slowed down, asked if he needed a ride, and when he'd say yes, they'd throw a quarter at him and tell him to call a cab. I on the other hand, would probably just have ignored him altogther. I'm a nicer jerk than my friends were.
Ted Bundy and "Silence of the Lambs" I have been single for so long that if a "nice" couple asks me for directions I stand out of reach.
Post a Comment