I gave a ride to a stranger.
He's at the pay phone outside the liquor store and I am waiting to pull into traffic and it's late and hot, Fresno hot, and the windows are down and he's walking, somewhat limping, toward me and he says: "Hey, I'm not a bum of nothing, but can you give me a ride. My ankle is busted and I can't really walk." And at the same moment I'm thinking how this might be a bad idea, I'm throwing my crap in the backseat and unlocking the door and letting the guy slide right in.
We drive a total of three blocks, less than a five-minute drive and the whole while I'm trying to evaluate what's the worst that can happen. If he had a gun. If he had a knife. If he decided to just start punching at me. Forget that the guy was being all chatty and seemed perfectly like-able and nice, save for the fact he asked me for a ride and it was late and hot and who does that in this day and age.
What I decided this: A gun would be bad. Big boom. A knife, less bad just because the car is smallish and he was a big guy and sort of crammed in and trying to stab me would be totally awkward from the sitting position. Same with punches. Plus, I'm driving, which gives me the advantage of slamming on the brakes, swearving, etc.
Which brings me to my second thought: Whatever risk I'm taking, he's taking the bigger one. Because I am in control of the car and I could just drive where ever, and who knows what kind of craziness (knife, gun, mace, duct tape, quick ties) I have stashed away under my seat. Or in my pockets. Plus, it was late and hot and I said get in, like it was no deal, and who does that in this day and age?
So, what happend?
Nothing, really. We turn down his street he leans a bit out the window and yells at some lady standing on the corner. "Hey, you can't be out here, it's dark. Get on home, now." Then, he laughs some and says, "It's OK, walks down this street all the time. She lives right there." When we get to his house, he thanks me for the ride. "It's just my ankle, you know. There's nothing left to it. I got no walkabilities."
I drive away laughing.
1 comment:
Man, I remember a few years ago taking some dude from Stones to something like Belmont and First (not knowing nor asking, of course, where we were going when I told him I'd take him). I think I went through the same array of thoughts and had a similar result. I told my girlfriend at the time and got a verbal lashing for that, which I suppose was understandable.
Just makes me wonder what it'd be like if we didn't automatically jump to those conclusions though, ya know? I mean, if we were in Iceland or something, it'd be such a pleasure to do that for people on a regular basis; personally, I'd be deterred today because I'm generally scared. Maybe I just need to sack up. :-)
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