What is it with me and people who run out of petrol? You remember a while ago how I was accosted late one evening walking back to the car park by a woman who needed to buy a few of litres of fuel to get her home to Yorkshire?
Well last week it happened again. I was sitting in my car waiting for Nikki to come out of work when a guy approached me and gestured that I should wind my window down. He asked me if I had a petrol can, as he'd almost run out of fuel and neither of the two garages within walking distance had any for sale. I had to disappoint him. I don't carry a fuel can.
"Do you work here?" he asked
"No, I'm waiting for my wife." (so much easier and quicker, and less prone to misinterpretation than "partner")
"Could you possibly spare some cash for the petrol? Neither of these stations will take my fuel card either."
I fumbled in my wallet. I don't know what made me do it, but I figured petrol's expensive these days, he hadn't said how far he had to go, and to be honest he'd caught me by surprise and I wasn't really thinking straight. I gave him twenty quid.
"You're a life saver mate. Look - what's your number?"
He took out his mobile phone and entered my name and number.
"Right, I'll drop the money back here next week and call you to let you know it's here."
"OK. You can leave it with the security guard."
"Thanks again."
And with that, he was gone.
Did I really expect to get the money back? Well yes, actually. I mean, if I'd thought about it more carefully I might have given him a tenner rather than twenty - enough for a couple of gallons and therefore at least a 70 mile journey - but I would still have given him something. And even if I never see the money again, it's on his karma not mine. It won't stop me helping out some other poor sod who's stuck in the future. I won't think "nah, I've been stung once - maybe twice - now, I'm not falling for it again," because that could be the one time the person doing the asking is really in trouble. And you know what they say. There but for the grace of God, and all that. It could be me one day.
Still pisses me off though. That was last Wednesday, and the money hasn't turned up yet.
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2 comments:
In Toronto they actually wander the shopping malls on Saturday mornings with a gas can asking for change. It's the new way to mooch money from the poor working blokes like myself. I gave in the first time but now I conveniently don't have any money.
Wow, mate! This wouldn't happen in America because 1) chances are this guy is after information he can access by getting your name and phone number -- whether identity theft, access to other information from banking to what have you, finding your address to break in, yadda yadda yadda.
*Not* that we've become paranoid because our President keeps threatening that the terrorists are coming, the terrorists are coming; our news programs are rife with rip-off stories and of course we couldn't possibly be entertained unless we see stories of those doing unto others what they would never want to have done to them ... ;-)
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