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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Overseas It's Ok

On Friday I was driving back to work after a quick lunch break and I saw a guy walking on the side of the road in the rain. He was dressed professionally and talking on his cell phone, and he was walking fast. I drove past him and wondered what he was doing walking in the rain. The road he was on was long and basically deserted - I could tell that he had a long way to go no matter where he was headed. After passing him I turned around in the first place that I could and then went back to offer him a ride. On the way back I passed him again, and then flipped around where the road was the widest so I could come up on him from the side. As I was driving towards him and about to slow down to a stop, I remembered that you don't really do that in the States. So then I drove off.

11 comments:

  1. sad, but true! Your first instinct is to help the guy out, but then there is that little bit of doubt...he could be some kind of crazy killer...so you continue to drive right by. Funny to think that while we were in Venezuela (where my hubby is from)we would pick up people from the side of the road and they would ride with us in the car to give us directions to where we were going!

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  2. i've seen the movies and read the news clips. that is just a no-no. good thing you realized it before you took a riskt that just isn't worth it.

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  3. isn't it sad that that is true?

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  4. You're instincts are admirable and if you weren't alone in the car it might have been a different story. But yeah, that's life in the good ol' US of A.

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  5. OK, so, all of your commenters (so far) have sided with you.....but, would I be a bad person if I sided with you stopping and helping? Does that make me hated by your millions of readers? If we'd been together, we could have helped. I can't tell you how many times I want to help people....sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. god, the struggle!

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  6. Very sad ... mt first instinct is always to help someone, but I too am then faced with the "could be an insane serial killer" thought.

    What the f*** is wrong with our society????????? What if *I* were the one stranded at the side of a rural road?

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  7. Sadly, you made the right call. And what is wrong with us? It is a sad commentary, but you just never know.

    (Plus he had a cell phone, so theoretically he could call for help...)

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  8. It's such a shame, but very true. (I wouldn't have stopped either).

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  9. It is also done all the time here on Maui,heck it's even legal. However I am glad you listened to the little voice and left him,I know that may sound mean,but better safe than sorry.Even though it is ok here I have only ever picked up people twice...and both of them were small and puny so I could have taken them out had it come to that. :)

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  10. By the way Just so you know this comment and the one above are from Scott from life with lola, I have know idea why I am just coming up as scott but there you have it .

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  11. Eh, I don't know how "sad" it is. Everyone's got cell phones these days, and hopefully, someone to call on said phone to pick their ass up and give them a ride.

    So really, don't feel bad. Serial killers ruined hitching for the rest of us. That is, among other reasons, why I hate serial killers.

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