Reinforcing Previously Held Beliefs

The result is always good, only the process can be uncomfortable at times. Case in point.

Hitchhikers.

I don't pick them up, unless they are incredibly old and feeble or female and pregnant.

Yet last night I broke my vows and did the unthinkable.

I let a strange man in my van. gasp!

The Bro of Proteinstar and myself had just finished a rollicking good adventure in Faerun. Rykon our resident Sorceror took the noggin off a goblin archer from 40 feet. Gotta love that magic missile, now I just have to wait for the flames to die down before bursting through...oh hitchhikers.

Anyway, game done Bro walks me to the van and this dude comes up to us...

"Got jumper cables?" "Yup" I say and offer him a jump.
"Thanks man, you don't know how bad I need it, I'm not from here, but Pottsville (or something)"

I grab the cables and he's like, "oh, my car isn't here, it's at the Grayhound station."
I was like, "how the heck did you get over here? This is nowhere near the station."

"oh I was at a bar with my bud and...(he smelled it too)...well I have to take care of my ma..."
blah blah

Well, I stepped in it now. How can I retract my offer of help beacuse it got a litttle more involved? My bro gave me a fierce look but came along. So the guy was here for the first time and was "scared of the city". please. He knew how to get to the bus station easily enough, which had me wondering.

Well we chat about Alma Maters and such and turns out he's a college boy from somewhere but isn't going currently, we feign interest.

We arrive at the bus station and I'm in the middle of my, "I saw a huge crane fall from this very spot" story and he gasps, well I thought he was totally into my description so I keep going. yeah, turns out he wasn't and was actually gasping about his missing car. Which he parked right in front of 2 dozen DO NOT PARK signs and another half dozen TOW ZONE placards. Idiot.

I was thinking, were you drunk before you parked?

This is where the story gets interesting.

The guy goes nuts, like is he carrying a knife? nuts. He gets desperate and angry and pleading and nearly violent. Sitting in the back of my Voyager raving.

Mike and I look at each other and brace ourselves for the worst.

"YOU GUYS GOTTA GIVE ME TEN BUCKS!!!"

Unfortunately neither of us had any money. Then he's begging, "please man, hit an ATM or something I just need a taxi out of here! Just a taxi to Reading, 10 bucks man that's all I ask!"

I inform him, none to softly, that a taxi to Reading will cost 3 times that.

We both refuse to give him any money and then he EXPLODES.

Fists clenched and shaking he demands we give him money.

And then it happened...Mike later said I sounded like a real adult...

the spirit of the father of Proteinstar erupted from deep within me and I bellowed, nay roared at this man.

Not sure what I said initially but the man didn't back down at first but retorted with a

"you think I'm scared of you?"

I increased my furor and was getting nearly to the point of contemplating violence when he changed 180 degrees.

"Wait man wait, I'm sorry. No Man I'm really sorry."

We took him to talk with a securitty guard and it looked like he was trying to bum more money. And finally I drove him down to 2nd street to find his friend. At this point I knew this guy only wanted money for more beers. There was no car, no Pottsville, no ma.

I waited 2 minutes outside the bar in case I was wrong and drove off.

I will never pick up a stranger again, and if I do you better be 80 years old and 8 months pregnant with triplets.