BEAR on 4/8/2006 at 14:24

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The story begins yesterday. My comm. college graduation is tomorrow (Friday), some family are coming in and the house is a wreck, so I basically spent a week working my balls off fixing the place up and cleaning a lot.

Seeing as the graduation is tomorrow, I decided to go in Thursday night, so I would rather wake up in town and be able to get everything ready, as opposed to getting up and having to rush to get my shit together and drive an hour into town.

So, its after dark, about 9:30 or so, and I'm headed down the highway listening to music, its dark as shit and my windshield is filthy making it kind of hard to see when headlights shine towards me.

As I'm going along out of the corner if my eye I see this guy on the side of the road, waving at me as I go by. I'm afraid he's hurt or something, so I pull over and stop. Behind me another car stops as well, so their lights are shining right into my eyes. My heart is pounding because I have no idea what's going on and think its quite likely that I'm about to get a good stabbin, plus the light makes everything feel a little surreal.

I walk back to the other car, wondering just what I might have gotten myself into, I hear some mumbled talking as cars roar by me on the highway. A man comes into the light, hes about my height and a little skinny, he smells faintly of booze and is a little wired looking. He tells me these other people are going to give him a ride to "the store", I have no idea what store and I'm not particularly keen on taking him myself, so I say ok, and half-assedly fumble out something like "ok, I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt or something, he turns around and says "I am hurt, my hearts broken, my old lady kicked me out" or something like that. He then asks me where I'm headed. I'm a little ashamed that I lied to him, since he seemed a little crazy and smelled of booze and I wasn't sure I wanted to give him a ride; I'm all for helping people but it was probably a dumb-fucking thing to do.

After we talk for a minute, I tell him I'm headed BY Asheville, when my real destination is Asheville, and he needs to get to Patton. Since I'm nervous and a little stupid, I try to weave a lie that gets me out of driving him all the way out to Patton, instead offering to drop him off at UNCA (a local collage), which is the exit I get off at to go to my place. He asks me "Is there no god in your heart?" which wierded me out a little bit, so I tell him if he can tell me where to go I'll take him.

We get into the car; I'm not entirely sure what the fuck I'm doing. As we start down the road again he praises my name and says a lot of religious stuff about how he was singing amazing grace as I drove by and two cars stopped to help him and what not. Seems like an OK guy, obviously been drinking and had up and decided to walk about 30 miles or so, he wouldn't have made it a quarter of the way, most likely doomed to spend the night on the side of the road, lucky for him its summer and warm.

The long we talk the more at ease I am, he's not going to stab me or anything, and he tells me about what work he's been doing and stuff of that nature, and I tell him that if I were to be stranded and in need of a ride, I would hope someone else would stop, which is kind of bullshit cause a lot of times I wouldn't stop for a hitchhiker on the sole notion that its probably not a good idea, if I was sure I was safe I would probably pick up every one of them.

We get off the highway and stared down Patton avn. and he directs me to a K-MART parking lot (I was hoping he didn't pick a deserted parking lot to have me let him off), but instead tells me to take the next right and drop him off at his aunts trailer park (not surprising).

As we head up the road he repeats over and over how thankful he is, as I really saved his ass because he would have been walking all night and still not gotten there probably, most likely giving out before he got there.

I drop him off at a little turnaround spot next to the trailer park, he shakes my hand and I tell him to take care, he thanks me again and goes on his way.

I'm feeling better, I just helped someone and got away with something that probably wasn't real bright, and any time you do something strange for the first time you feel better when it turns out ok.

I'm not really thinking and pull out, deciding to hook my mp3 player back into my stereo and listen to music the 10-15 mins back home, and what's this? What happened to my mp3 player, it should have been sitting in the passenger seat when my wayward friend got into the car.

With a roarus FUCK I realize that my "friend" must have palmed my precious mp3 player while we were talking, as I paid no attention whatsoever to the few items within his reach. My car is practically spotless, my moms, brothers, and fathers cars are all filthy as shit and it makes me sick so I keep my car totally empty except for my cell phone and mp3 player.

I'm sitting at a stoplight waiting for the left turn signal, and reaching behind my seat to see if I threw it into the back or something when he got in, replaying the original getting-into-the-car scene, trying for fuck to remember what (if anything) I did with it, I assumed I would have at least moved it out of his seat. The left turn signal comes up and I don't notice, and the car behind me honks its horn, I manage a feeble apologetic wave at the guy and pull out, cursing all the way home at that greedy fucker who praised me so highly as he was robbing me.

I'm wondering if I should tell my friend or my brother. The longer he is out of my car the more I realize that it could have gone really badly. I'm 21, about 5'10, this guy was probably about my size or so, but I'm strong and he didn't look particularly in good shape, so mano a mano I could have probably taken him, but when you let ANYONE in your car that you don't really know, you're at an extreme disadvantage, and I thought of this but didn't really think I could turn the guy down after pulling over, though I would have been plenty happy to let the elderly couple drop him at the store.

I get back to my friends house where I have lived during the weekdays for the last few years, and start to unpack my stuff. I'm still not entirely able to believe that this guy took my mp3 player, so I keep looking right where it should be as if half expecting it to show up, with no luck. As I pull out my huge-fucking-bag, guess what I found. There was my mp3 player, right in the back seat where I must have tossed it when I unhooked it when he got into the car.

Now, as you might imagine I feel even worse. First I lied to the guy to try to get out of taking him where he needed to go, when I knew good and well how to get there, and then I cursed him for taking something that he didn't. Anyways, everything turned out, and as I'm watching the daily show and Colbert report with my friend, I keep realizing "holy shit I did just do that didn't I".

I tried to imagine what others reactions would be, assuming they actually gave a shit. I figure on ttlg I'll be called a pussy by the people who pick people up, and a moron by those who don't. Im not entirely sure if I'll do it again the next time, this one ended up fine but who knows about the next. This guy turned out to just be someone who needed a hand, a position I very well might find myself one day.

What do you people think? Would you have done it? Has anyone else done a similar thing, and if so, how did it work out? Is this thread way to fucking long? Am I as stupid as I feel?

At least I have a mildly interesting story, and since Im a huge pussy these don't come along that often.

BEAR on 4/8/2006 at 15:02

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Exactly why I wont be telling my mom about this. Seriously though, I know what you mean and you're probably right, chances are I wont do it again, but fuck you have to do it at least once (like most things).

I think I made him sound a little scarier than he really was, turns out he was a nice guy. Chances are most people needing a ride probabaly are prefectly good people who just need a hand, but you always hear about the small portion that stab people, but yeah it was dumb as hell.

Jackablade on 4/8/2006 at 16:21

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I've never really been in the situation, but if I was by myself I wouldn't stop. Any regret I might have would be gone in a few minutes anyway.

Mr.Duck on 4/8/2006 at 16:51

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Russian roulette is safer and your odds of survival are higher.

God knows it's almost a sure suicide attempt to pick a hitchhiker in my country (seeing as we -don't- get much of'em, which makes you suspect when someone does hitch a ride).

And what Noid said - it's a fucking art to judge a hike. And -never- even attempt it solo.

Raven on 4/8/2006 at 18:26

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Yes that is right, the pirate terrorist black men are out to get YOU - lock yerself up folk - WE ARE NOT SAFE. FFS - yes you should feel guilty for automatically cursing the dude for stealling your mp3 player, but you make up for it by at least helping the bloke out. RE: Picking up people on the road side - if you are a woman alone and it is a guy then NO (there is no point on inviting trouble) but any other time espically if numbers and weight are on your side then YES. I refuse to live in a world were kindness cowers.