PepperElf's "Begging for gas.again" thread reminded me of something that happened last week. I meant to post this, but was getting ready to go out of town for a conference and plain forgot.
Last Tuesday evening, I've just parked and am heading into my Tae Kwon Do school for my usual evening class. The school is located in a small strip mall, right next door to a Food Lion and some other businesses that get a lot of traffic, so the lot is jammed with people.
As I am pulling my gym bag out of the truck, a car pulls up next to me, and the driver leans out, and says, "Hey, do you live around here?"
Thinking the guy is going to ask for directions, I say, "Sure," and move closer to speak to him (I still had about a 20 minutes before the start of class, which I usually use to warm up and stretch, so I wasn't in a hurry). Inside the car (a Ford Focus, looks new) I see a black male (driving) and a white female companion in the passenger seat. The race will be important in a moment.
Cast:
Me:
Driver: D
Passenger: P She says very little through this whole exchange, other than to nod her head. However, both are dressed down, and her jeans were so worn that there was nothing but threads holding them together, and they were rather soiled looking.
D: This is kinda a long story, and I know we're driving a very nice car. Me and my wife just drove up here from Ashville; it's about a four hour drive [this is a true statement] and we're both very tired. We came up here for my wife's father's retirement dinner tonight [this happened about 8pm]. Well, she hadn't told him that I'm black, and he refused to let us in the house. So now we've got to drive back to Ashville tonight. Only, I left my wallet at my father in laws house.
D: So I call the sheriff, and they escorted us back to the house, but no one was home. So now we need to get back to Asheville, and we don't have any money for gas. Could you spare a little bit of money to get us home?
Unfortunately for this guy, I don't give cash to strangers, and I've already been hit by the gas scam last year. I saw a number of holes in this guy's story, like why did you leave your wallet in the guy's house in the first place?
Judge Judy says if a story doesn't make sense, it usually isn't true, and I smelled a massive rat. But I didn't say any of this, since I wasn't looking for an argument or to get cussed at. So I just told hime, "Sorry, man, I'm tapped at the moment" (partly true, I only had a couple of bucks on me since I seldom carry much cash).
He gives me a disappointed look as I back away from his car and walk towards my dojang, before rolling off. I didn't see him call over to anyone else.
Last Tuesday evening, I've just parked and am heading into my Tae Kwon Do school for my usual evening class. The school is located in a small strip mall, right next door to a Food Lion and some other businesses that get a lot of traffic, so the lot is jammed with people.
As I am pulling my gym bag out of the truck, a car pulls up next to me, and the driver leans out, and says, "Hey, do you live around here?"
Thinking the guy is going to ask for directions, I say, "Sure," and move closer to speak to him (I still had about a 20 minutes before the start of class, which I usually use to warm up and stretch, so I wasn't in a hurry). Inside the car (a Ford Focus, looks new) I see a black male (driving) and a white female companion in the passenger seat. The race will be important in a moment.
Cast:
Me:
Driver: D
Passenger: P She says very little through this whole exchange, other than to nod her head. However, both are dressed down, and her jeans were so worn that there was nothing but threads holding them together, and they were rather soiled looking.
D: This is kinda a long story, and I know we're driving a very nice car. Me and my wife just drove up here from Ashville; it's about a four hour drive [this is a true statement] and we're both very tired. We came up here for my wife's father's retirement dinner tonight [this happened about 8pm]. Well, she hadn't told him that I'm black, and he refused to let us in the house. So now we've got to drive back to Ashville tonight. Only, I left my wallet at my father in laws house.
D: So I call the sheriff, and they escorted us back to the house, but no one was home. So now we need to get back to Asheville, and we don't have any money for gas. Could you spare a little bit of money to get us home?
Unfortunately for this guy, I don't give cash to strangers, and I've already been hit by the gas scam last year. I saw a number of holes in this guy's story, like why did you leave your wallet in the guy's house in the first place?
Judge Judy says if a story doesn't make sense, it usually isn't true, and I smelled a massive rat. But I didn't say any of this, since I wasn't looking for an argument or to get cussed at. So I just told hime, "Sorry, man, I'm tapped at the moment" (partly true, I only had a couple of bucks on me since I seldom carry much cash).
He gives me a disappointed look as I back away from his car and walk towards my dojang, before rolling off. I didn't see him call over to anyone else.
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