So on the first day of 2014 a girl asked me for a ride and I said no.
I drove down to Gary, Indiana, to help someone with a documentary he’s working on. It was a quiet, wintry day in murder city. I got lost while looking for an address and was deciding whether or not to turn onto 5th Avenue when on that street a bundled up black girl started running towards me waving her arm. I rolled down my window as she drew closer and asked me if I could give her a ride to Broadway (several blocks down 5th). I said I couldn’t, that I wasn’t going that way and was late for something. And I apologized. She shrugged and went on her way.
A couple of things:
- I probably should not have even rolled down the window as she came up to my vehicle and just drove off.
- I don’t even think I’d trust an old, one-legged woman in this blighted city and it’s high murder-per-capita rate.
- She either simply wanted a ride, that she was late to catch a bus, and does this frequently – ask strangers for a lift.
- She planned to shiv me once she got in the car.
- She had a male partner or two lurking around ready to pounce on some sucker who stopped to assist a girl.
- She wanted a ride, but would have asked for money in exchange for sexual favors on the way.
- She wanted a ride, but would have asked for sexual favors with no money changing hands because I’m that alluring.
- If she was holding a six-pack of a good craft beer, I’d probably take her anywhere.
Now had I been in Bucktown or Lincoln Park, and some Anne Hathaway-looking gal with the Catwoman hair was running towards me asking for a lift – you bet I’d give her one. That’s just the way it is.
I wonder if that girl was anyone else she came across for a ride. With the weather and the holiday, it was pretty quiet out there. Assuming she lives right there in murder city, why would she ask a total stranger if she could enter his car? Is it my innocent, good-looking Irish looks that did it? The fact I drive a Jeep? A Jeep is very welcoming to the female population.
Once, while at the University of Illinois, a coed in a band uniform saw me stopped and asked for a lift to the game. I gave her one. And met up with her later that night. You know how a cheerleading uniform can make any girl look good (almost)? I used to say put the hottest girl in a band outfit and her shape will become distorted and unsightly. Not so much with U of I girl. (And no, I didn’t let her put her instrument in the bad place. Not that night, anyway).
Either way, the year begins for yours truly with a gal asking to get in my Jeep with me. I’ll take that as a good sign of things to come for 2014.
(Coming next: You’re The Weird Girl, I’m The Asshole)
The Dodgy 
The problem with this kind of situations is, you could never be 100% sure what the other person’s intentions are. You can give a lift to an Anne Hathaway looking gal and she could still be a shady character, looks can be deceiving. This reminds me of a stupid episode from “Sex & The city”, man I hate this show, don’t know why I even watched this one episode… Anyways, Carrie meets a total stranger on the street who smiles at her, later that night she sees the same guy who says “Wanna lift? Get in the car”and she immediately gets in! Are you freakin kidding me! Really Carrie? Really? You have no sense of self preservation whatsoever!?
There is a lot of stuff, I noticed, that one can refer back to Sex and The City for. You should watch “Girls” and let me know what you think of that. As far as Carrie, yea I think I remember that one. I don’t know if I’d pick Carrie up but Charlotte, yea definitely.