Unexpected
December 5th, 2009
I’m walking towards my bus stop one morning, maybe four minutes into my fifteen-minute walk. It’s a crisp clear morning, so I don’t particularly mind the walk.
A car pulls up next to me, the driver rolls down his window and asks: “Are you going to the bus stop? Can I give you a lift?”
Just like that, I am chauffeured to the bus by a heretofore unfamiliar neighbor (whose house is far enough from ours so we shouldn’t be bumping into each other too often).
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that when I am in a car on my own, it never occurs to me to offer a ride in my car to strangers. These Americans sometimes surprise me to no end.
When my uncle used to take the bus and then the metro to work in DC, he frequently got offers of rides–it let people use the multi passenger lanes.
The guy is an axe murderer. He’s just being nice until you let your guard down and then…TWACK!
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
And here I am trying to decide if its worth correcting my spelling.
(It shoulda been THWACK.)
Michelle, here we are talking about less than a mile ride along back roads. There are no lanes to speak of, let alone multi-passenger ones.
Nathan, if all my interaction with the guy is while he’s behind the wheel, I think I’m safe. If he ever stops the car during that 60-second ride and decides to climb into the back seat, I’ll be on my guard.
Not that I expect this ride to be a common happenstance.
I was just going to say, when I’m walking somewhere, it would never occur to me to get into a car with a stranger. Although I’m sure you’re right, Ilya, that it was only a neighborly gesture, social norms being what they are, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I’d probably have declined and kept walking…