Tuesday afternoon was our department's Holiday Luncheon at a fine restaurant in the city. I had the butternut squash ravioli in creamed chive sauce with cranberries and walnuts. Very Good! At lunch, one of my bosses asked about my commute in - it being so odd that I was late. When I got to the part about that ride to Metro, the entire table became silent. The guy who sits in the cube across from mine said, "Oh my God. Stranger Danger!" I had to ask for clarity. "Stranger Danger! It's from elementary school. You don't get in a car with strangers. Are you crazy?" I said, "She was alone", but that just made it worse. That's when the questions started:
Were you hitchhiking? No.
She just stopped and picked you up? Yes.
And she drove you all the way to Metro? Yes.
Was she good looking? Uh ... well ... yeah, she was.
Did she have a nice car? Yes.
And you've never met her before? No, but she sees me at the bus stop all the time.
Have you ever done this before? No.
Was she married? No , she was divorced. (Hmmm ...)
Did she have a good job? Yes
Did you get her number? No.
Did she tell you where she lived? Uh ... well ... yeah, she did.
Do you think your wife is setting you up? No.
It became a running joke for the rest of the day. I was surprised at how much I knew about this total stranger. And I wondered how much information I'd divulged about myself on that ride. Forty minutes is a long time. I know she was just a nice person who put herself at risk by helping someone in need. I could have lied at lunch and said I caught the 8:10am bus, but I didn't; so I guess I deserved the good natured ribbing. After all, it is an odd story.
As we left the office that evening, someone asked, "Would you do it again?" I gave a blank look. "If she comes by the bus stop tomorrow, will you get in her car?"
On Wednesday, I wore a little more clothing, the 7:20am bus was only five minutes late, and I didn't see my new friend. Life is back to normal.
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Isn't it funny how we are conditioned to not trust. The truth is that if she told her co-workers the story, she'd be getting the similar questions.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you stop? Are you crazy? He could have been an axe murderer!
Was he married?
OK, this question always drives me nuts. It seems that people cannot imagine a relationship on a simple human-to-human level. Again.... conditioning. I asked a male co-worker if he wanted to join me for lunch one day and he said, "But you're married". I replied, "Tom!!!! It's just lunch!!!". HA.
Your encounter reminded me of the importance of random acts of kindness.
I actually used the phrase "... could have been an axe murderer - like Lizzy Borden" when talking about this at work. Issues. My comment on the lunch thing: It's just lunch in the beginning, but where does it end?
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