Posted by Penny on October 22, 2003, at 8:48:00
After therapy I went and got something to eat and then went to get a few things to take to the little ones I used to nanny (I'm seeing them this weekend). After leaving the store, when I was getting back in my car, a man approached me asking if I had jumper cables, and I do, but I automatically told him "No." I don't know why.
Anyway, he proceeded to tell me that his car battery had died and he had called the police but they said they couldn't help him, and he didn't have the money to call a wrecker to jump start his car, and he'd been asking around, but no one had been able to help him. And then he asked me if I knew where a certain hospital was, which I did, and how far was it, b/c his wife was there giving birth to his first daughter (he has four sons) and he was going to miss it, and he would walk if he had to. I told him it would be quite a walk.
So, for some ungodly reason, I offered to take him to the hospital. I don't know why, and I know it was STUPID of me to offer to take this stranger ANYWHERE, but I just felt like he needed some help. He seemed taken aback but accepted, but then asked if I could take him somewhere a shorter distance, a place where he was supposed to be going to meet his boss, but he had gone to the wrong place (thought he was supposed to meet his boss at Office Max and it was instead Office Depot, down the road), and then his car died. I drove him to Office Depot, but he was 30 minutes late and the man had already left. So he asked if I would take him back to where we had come from, where his car was. I did, and that was that.
How absolutely stupid was I? I have NEVER EVER done anything like that before - I am usually so cautious! He didn't really seem like a threat, but I know enough to know that just b/c he didn't seem that way didn't mean he wasn't.
On one hand, I wish I could have helped him more. On the other hand, I can't believe I tried to help him by actually driving him somewhere.
Jeez.
P
poster:Penny
thread:271810
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031020/msgs/271810.html