My mom taught me never to pick up hitchhikers...
So I didn't...I just offered someone a ride.
The older boy and I drove back to the Cities today since school starts tomorrow. Halfway down, I saw a car pulled off on the side of the road with the hood up. It was just a few hundred feet from an exit. There was some guy walking along the ramp, so I slowed down and offered him a ride up to the gas station. Turns out he and a friend had driven to Fargo that morning to participate in a Pracs study. The guy didn't qualify, and the other guy had forgotten his wallet and couldn't even apply. On the way back to the Cities their car broke down. The one guy had no money (and, as I found out later) the other had no wallet, so I bought some oil and radiator fluid for him and drove him back down to his car. We tried adding oil, but it sounds like there's something seriously wrong with his engine. They really didn't know what to do, so I pondered a bit and then offered a ride back to the cities.
They seemed on the up-and-up, so it seemed like a safe move. At the same time, I called my husband and some friends in the cities because I was worried I was doing a stupid thing. I got them home, and hopefully they can figure out something to do about the car.
I have to say that I was a little bit freaked out by the situation, but I kept telling myself that people are scared because all they ever hear about is the bad things that happen to people. How do you know that those things happen once in a million times, but you never hear about the incidents where nothing happens because they just aren't sensational? Not that I'm encouraging people to pick up hitchhikers (and I never have and probably never will)...but on the other hand, these guys obviously had a problem and weren't setting off any alarm bells, so I trusted my gut. So consider yourself aware of a situation in which someone was a good Samaritan, and it worked out okay.
The older boy and I drove back to the Cities today since school starts tomorrow. Halfway down, I saw a car pulled off on the side of the road with the hood up. It was just a few hundred feet from an exit. There was some guy walking along the ramp, so I slowed down and offered him a ride up to the gas station. Turns out he and a friend had driven to Fargo that morning to participate in a Pracs study. The guy didn't qualify, and the other guy had forgotten his wallet and couldn't even apply. On the way back to the Cities their car broke down. The one guy had no money (and, as I found out later) the other had no wallet, so I bought some oil and radiator fluid for him and drove him back down to his car. We tried adding oil, but it sounds like there's something seriously wrong with his engine. They really didn't know what to do, so I pondered a bit and then offered a ride back to the cities.
They seemed on the up-and-up, so it seemed like a safe move. At the same time, I called my husband and some friends in the cities because I was worried I was doing a stupid thing. I got them home, and hopefully they can figure out something to do about the car.
I have to say that I was a little bit freaked out by the situation, but I kept telling myself that people are scared because all they ever hear about is the bad things that happen to people. How do you know that those things happen once in a million times, but you never hear about the incidents where nothing happens because they just aren't sensational? Not that I'm encouraging people to pick up hitchhikers (and I never have and probably never will)...but on the other hand, these guys obviously had a problem and weren't setting off any alarm bells, so I trusted my gut. So consider yourself aware of a situation in which someone was a good Samaritan, and it worked out okay.