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You don't have to believe it. I lost my friend over that because she thought just like you. Years later, I saw her again. Went up to her, tapped her on the shoulder, she turned around, saw me, and immediately started crying and repeating, "You were right" over and over again. Then told me that he tried to kill her. I offered her my number, but I knew she would never call. She never did. I don't care if you believe it. You don't matter, she did.
My husband is like that. He can size up someone after spending a short time with them. My cousin married this guy and I thought well, if my cousin likes him he must be okay. My husband said he thought the guy was a little off and did not like him. Later, we found out he put a gun to my cousin's head and physically abused her kids from another marriage. So, I believe you. It has happened before several times. I want to be;iDVD the good in everyone but glad hubby has this sense.
I've given rides to a few people over the years. No one approached me, I just pulled over.
- Blazing hot day, mom and baby in stroller leaving grocery store (I passed them as I drove to the store and knew they would have a long walk back)
- Long stretch of empty, uphill road, guy dressed for work and another two miles or so before getting anywhere
- Nasty snowy wind, poor schmoe riding a bike alongside the road through several inches of snow (so dangerous and I found out he had several miles to go ... his brother was supposed to pick him up from work but his car died)
- Very bad snow, nighttime, my husband and I passed a guy walking (he too had a couple miles to go)
- Rainy, an older lady with her arms loaded with shopping bags, walking down a stretch of road with no neighborhoods nearby
If that gets me killed so be it. Statistically, it's more dangerous to be the person picked up than it is to be the driver.
Only one I could really think of is Auric Goldfinger's employee, Oddjob. But he killed people with his top hat, so that doesn't really count. Anyway, nobody in their right mind would have picked that guy up if they saw him hitchhiking.
I've done it a few times as well. Once to a young mom waiting at a bus stop with a baby wrapped in a blanket on a cold day.
Another time when I was young two friends and I were leaving a club late at night. A man in a car was harassing a woman on foot in the parking lot. She was crying. He zoomed off and we stopped and told her to get in. Luckily he didn't see her get in our car and she lay down on the back seat. He screeched back through the parking lot looking for her but didn't see her with us. He was furious and scary-looking. She told us it was her boyfriend and they'd had a fight, etc.
I was staying with my parents for the summer and I took her home and made her a bed on the couch. I hoped if my parents saw a body there in the morning they'd just assume it was one of my friends. Anyway, she was gone before any of us got up. She was wearing some crazy high-heels and I wondered how far she had to walk, and if she even knew where she was when she went out the front door.
We've got this concept of "casual carpool" locally for people commuting to San Francisco from the east. Basically there are designated stops, people line up who need a ride. And then people who need 2 more people to get in the carpool lane pickup passengers. Then there is a designated stop in Sa Francisco to get dropped off. It has been going on I think 30+ years now. Very few issues.
I did something highly risky to my safety today.Today at 5:00 am I spotted a lady outside at my building, shivering in cold.She looked in her late 40's to ealrly 50's.Nedlessly to say, she aproched me then begged me for a ride because they were no busses running at that time.According to her she had to get home promplty for emergincies issues and it was too far and cold for her to walk .So she dresparately needed a Naturally, I hesitated but she kept begging so I finally relented said okay"you can come with me".It wasn't totally out of my way.When I dropped her off , she thanked me profusely and got out.
Now I relaized that it wasn't smart thing to do.She could have dangerous but then I have taken so many risk in my life time.Has anyone done something like this?
I used to do that a lot when I was a kid. Now, not so much.
My husband is like that. He can size up someone after spending a short time with them. My cousin married this guy and I thought well, if my cousin likes him he must be okay. My husband said he thought the guy was a little off and did not like him. Later, we found out he put a gun to my cousin's head and physically abused her kids from another marriage. So, I believe you. It has happened before several times. I want to be;iDVD the good in everyone but glad hubby has this sense.
It's not being psychic or having ESP, it's just paying attention to the details and how a person acts and talks. Or doesn't.
I worked for almost 2 decades in a bank and a couple years in a night shift in a convenience store, so being able to size people up was essential for my jobs. It's something anyone can do and get good at with practice. I'm not saying you can do it with 100% accuracy 100% of the time, but you can get pretty darn close.
About 5 years ago I was downtown and saw a woman with a cane about 50 years old with a beautiful dog: I am an animal lover to the extreme and commented on the beauty of the doggie (the dog looked like Lassie). We chit chatted forever, it was cold and dark, Macy.s was closing and the undesirables were lurking. She never asked, but was soooo grateful and we did get together socially but she was too ADHD for me to form any further friendship.
She lived in the worst neighborhood and was a real target on the bus IMHO with a cane and the dog plus bags of groceries. Her handicapped husband was at home waiting for them :/.
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