Smallpotatoes
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2002
- Messages
- 14,975
This afternoon, I was in a sub shop, eating lunch between basketball games. I had about two hours between games and figured I'd go to the office after eating and write a story before going to the next game.
There are about a half-dozen people in the shop. A middle-aged guy walks in, about my age, give or take a few years, a little bigger (taller, not wider) than I am, dressed casually, but neatly. Of all the people in the place, he approaches me. He says he's a surgical nurse who needs to be at a hospital about a half-hour away for an operation. His car broke down at the Starbucks down the street and he asked if I'd give him a ride. He seems normal enough so I agree, figuring I could always do my writing later (not a deadline situation) and I'd be back in plenty of time for the next game.
On the way there, he keeps telling me to drive faster, saying it could be a matter of life and death. He'd give me $1,000 (no big deal because he makes $100,000 a year he says).
The things get strange. His story starts changing. It's a routine operation. Then it's a matter of life and death, then it's a hip replacement. He talks about wanting to buy a helicopter for his job. As we approach the exit on the highway for the hospital, he tells me he needs to stop to get his second car for his ride home (He tells me it's a Mazzaratti (sp?)). He's also just behaving very strangely.
Too many parts of his story just don't add up. I was worried that if I called bull**** on him and told him to get out of the car things could get violent (as best I could tell he had no weapon on him, but I wasn't 100 percent sure). He ends up directing me to a bad area in a small city. It's 5:20. The basketball game is at 6:30. He gets out, asking me to follow him after he gets his car. I tell him at 5:30, I'm leaving, with or without him. I figured it was best to just ditch him as quietly as possible at that point so after a few minutes I left.
After a while it became kind of obvious to me it was a junkie who needed a ride to get drugs.
Hindsight being 20/20, I should have asked to see his hospital ID and if he didn't have it, no ride. (he also said he worked at several hospitals in the area and often had to be there at a moment's notice). I guess I gave him a ride because I've often felt that if I was ever in a tough spot and needed help from a stranger, somebody would help me.
Giving him a ride was a stupid move on my part. Luckily all I lost was an hour of my time and a quarter tank of gas. I guess ditching him the way I did was probably the best way to go about it.
I don't understand why out of all the people in the shop, he went to me. I've been in other situations where in a crowd of thousands, I'm the guy the people from the religious cult find. I'm surprised I never joined one.
Do some people just have that I'll listen to anything look?
There are about a half-dozen people in the shop. A middle-aged guy walks in, about my age, give or take a few years, a little bigger (taller, not wider) than I am, dressed casually, but neatly. Of all the people in the place, he approaches me. He says he's a surgical nurse who needs to be at a hospital about a half-hour away for an operation. His car broke down at the Starbucks down the street and he asked if I'd give him a ride. He seems normal enough so I agree, figuring I could always do my writing later (not a deadline situation) and I'd be back in plenty of time for the next game.
On the way there, he keeps telling me to drive faster, saying it could be a matter of life and death. He'd give me $1,000 (no big deal because he makes $100,000 a year he says).
The things get strange. His story starts changing. It's a routine operation. Then it's a matter of life and death, then it's a hip replacement. He talks about wanting to buy a helicopter for his job. As we approach the exit on the highway for the hospital, he tells me he needs to stop to get his second car for his ride home (He tells me it's a Mazzaratti (sp?)). He's also just behaving very strangely.
Too many parts of his story just don't add up. I was worried that if I called bull**** on him and told him to get out of the car things could get violent (as best I could tell he had no weapon on him, but I wasn't 100 percent sure). He ends up directing me to a bad area in a small city. It's 5:20. The basketball game is at 6:30. He gets out, asking me to follow him after he gets his car. I tell him at 5:30, I'm leaving, with or without him. I figured it was best to just ditch him as quietly as possible at that point so after a few minutes I left.
After a while it became kind of obvious to me it was a junkie who needed a ride to get drugs.
Hindsight being 20/20, I should have asked to see his hospital ID and if he didn't have it, no ride. (he also said he worked at several hospitals in the area and often had to be there at a moment's notice). I guess I gave him a ride because I've often felt that if I was ever in a tough spot and needed help from a stranger, somebody would help me.
Giving him a ride was a stupid move on my part. Luckily all I lost was an hour of my time and a quarter tank of gas. I guess ditching him the way I did was probably the best way to go about it.
I don't understand why out of all the people in the shop, he went to me. I've been in other situations where in a crowd of thousands, I'm the guy the people from the religious cult find. I'm surprised I never joined one.
Do some people just have that I'll listen to anything look?
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