Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about strangers.

THE PROMPT: "Have you ever had to ask a stranger for help? Write about your experience, or write about your feelings or thoughts on this question."

Good evening everyone...good question there in the prompt. Good question to flip. See, I'm a guy in that, well besides having the guy parts, I also don't ask for directions, and I'll struggle when doing something before people get tired watching me struggle and offer to help me. So the short answer is no, outside of being at a concert, bar or event, running out of smokes, and having to bum one off a complete stranger. And since I hate that when random weirdos (yes, I judge) try to bum cigarettes off me when I'm sittin' out on my break at work (and yes, this happens maybe once a month), I try to avoid asking strangers to do my bidding.

Now, the flipside to this is that it really depends on my mood and what the situation is. If I'm in a good mood and you look respectable and like you'd do the same for me, I'm courteous to strangers. If you look cracked-out and ask me for a cigarette or bus fare (or if you're walking and haven't showered in a week and you ask me for gas money), and I'm mindin' my biz and prefer to be left alone, I'mma tell ya to keep poundin' the pavement. It's that simple.

But on the other flip, I've been in situations where strangers have rushed to my aid. Before I tell the story, review this slideshow of Buffalo News pictures... http://galleries.buffalonews.com/photo.php?gname=gallery_1286925932.txt&item=1

Back in 2006 we had the "October Storm". A freakish snowfall overnight that killed power in many areas (some up to a week), took down a lot of trees (the next summer at 542 was not the same...in my tiny backyard there were two trees, one in each corner...they would bloom and provide shelter from the sun, until the storm, when they lost so many branches they've hardly bloomed as much since), dumped a ton of heavy, wet snow on the area, and basically shut the county down for a few days.

That Thursday, I was talking to my friend Nicole, listening to the Sabres game on the radio, and laying on the couch trying to fall asleep when the power went out. No big deal...I knew it was windy and the bill was paid, so I just decided to ride it out with some extra blankets. All was good. I actually wound up sleeping in my bed (I have a fetish for sleeping on couches) because it was a waterbed and it retained some of its heat when the power went out.

I woke up in the morning, totally unaware of what had happened the night before. I was off work but that Friday (the 13th...go figure) was a payday so I set my alarm to get up early, get my check and run some errands. But I couldn't...there was a ton of snow. It took me an hour just to dig my car out, but good luck driving. The roads weren't even plowed yet. But I was all like, "I'm driving a 2004 Mercury Sable (maybe it was a 2000 or 2002)...it can handle this!" Nope. Made it about six houses down and got stuck in the street, where a neighbor shovelled me out.

I proceeded two blocks down the street, turned the corner, and got stuck again. Two strangers, shovelling their properties, came flying over and helped me get back on the road. From there, I made it to work...to find the lot hadn't been plowed at all. There was no way I was gonna try to pull in. So I kept driving and stopped at Tops, a supermarket in a giant plaza. I could only go as far as the beginning of the lot. I parked, and saw I had voice mails. It was one of the other managers, asking me if I could come in for her. When I tried to call her back, I had no service. The wind had killed a lot of cell towers, so the ones still up were being taxed. I finally got a hold of her after a few tries...with spotty reception.

And the rest of the story doesn't matter...my power came back on the next afternoon, the store's power came on about a day after that, and maybe a week later, everyone had power. My boss was on vacation in Hawaii for two weeks, and she had been gone the week before the storm. When she came home, her treadmill was floating in the basement! Everything in her basement was ruined. Everything we had in our freezers at work...ruined ($3000 worth of product, gone melted). It was crazy for a few days around here.

So to quit rambling, thanks to those dudes that helped me out by digging my car out, when I shouldn't even have been driving anyway.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

I'm goin' old-school gangsta.

VITAL STATS:

Not much really. Slow day today, a chill kinda night, and a day off tomorrow. We'll see what the day brings. Peace, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!