Friday Poll
So yesterday as I left to Costco with Mr. P, I finally grabbed the two five dollar bills that had been sitting on the counter for at least two weeks. I stuffed them in my pocket, thinking I would put them in my wallet later.
I needed to fill up the car, so off we went to the gas station. As I was waiting next to my car for the tank to finish filling, I noticed a black car just sitting there. Suddenly (or it seemed to me) this guy in his mid-twenties approaches me. But not too close, he probably was a good ten feet away. The owner, it seemed, of the black car. He said, "Uh, I feel really stupid asking you this, but I need gas and I don't have any money. I only have some change (jingles it in his hand) and really, I feel like a jackass asking you if you had anything you could spare, even a dollar."
I looked at him. He seemed a fairly typical twentysomething slacker-y type. Longish hair, a tiny bit of scruff, but his clothes were somewhat expensive looking and he was clean.
I remembered the five dollar bills in my pocket. I thought, why this day of all days did I remember to take those fives off the counter when they've been sitting there forever? And the fact that I never actually put them in my wallet, because I assure you that I would have never turned my back on him and rooted through my purse, which was in the car. Maybe there were forces at work that were beyond my ken.
He had already turned away, as he mistook my pause for a rejection.
I stepped around the gas pump handed him one of the fives.
"Oh, oh my God. Thank you! Wow, a five. I really, really appreciate this."
My reply?
"Just make sure that you pay it forward, you know?"
"Yes, yes of course I will."
So, my friends, was Gina a big sucker? Did the young man pull a con on me and use the money for some beer? And what would you have done?
I needed to fill up the car, so off we went to the gas station. As I was waiting next to my car for the tank to finish filling, I noticed a black car just sitting there. Suddenly (or it seemed to me) this guy in his mid-twenties approaches me. But not too close, he probably was a good ten feet away. The owner, it seemed, of the black car. He said, "Uh, I feel really stupid asking you this, but I need gas and I don't have any money. I only have some change (jingles it in his hand) and really, I feel like a jackass asking you if you had anything you could spare, even a dollar."
I looked at him. He seemed a fairly typical twentysomething slacker-y type. Longish hair, a tiny bit of scruff, but his clothes were somewhat expensive looking and he was clean.
I remembered the five dollar bills in my pocket. I thought, why this day of all days did I remember to take those fives off the counter when they've been sitting there forever? And the fact that I never actually put them in my wallet, because I assure you that I would have never turned my back on him and rooted through my purse, which was in the car. Maybe there were forces at work that were beyond my ken.
He had already turned away, as he mistook my pause for a rejection.
I stepped around the gas pump handed him one of the fives.
"Oh, oh my God. Thank you! Wow, a five. I really, really appreciate this."
My reply?
"Just make sure that you pay it forward, you know?"
"Yes, yes of course I will."
So, my friends, was Gina a big sucker? Did the young man pull a con on me and use the money for some beer? And what would you have done?
Comments
Who knows what that guy really used the money for but you could have been very helpful in a time of true need.
At the same time, what's a buck or five?
If not, and he was a con man who simply moved on to his next mark, then oh well, it's his conscience and his karma. Yours are good.
Nice looking man in a suit holding a gas can, car with the hood up right nearby. He told me and my friend that he was out of gas and had no cash - left his wallet at home. (this was way before cell phones). We gave him 5 bucks (each of us). We felt great about ourselves.
Later on that night, we saw him at a different intersection.
Next week, we saw him at another one.
Never. Again.
Sad....isn't it?
You did the right thing in my mind, Gina. Nice job.
Plus, Mr. P got to witness his role model doing something amazing.