OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home today
 

I left work about 1300 today, (Saturday 2/24/07). It was a beautiful day in San Diego, or more properly in La Mesa, the eastern suburb of SD where I live. It was warm, and the sun was shining brightly, so I put the top down on my little black Miata. On my way, I stopped at the Vine Ripe Market, (a middle-eastern food store), to get a kebab plate to take home.

As I came out with my food, there was a Mercedes 500, (the big sedan), stopped halfway out of its parking slot next to my Miata. A very elderly woman was speaking through the open passenger-side window to the driver. They had a very brief exchange, then the Mercedes drove away. I was curious, but figured it was none of my business.

As I was backing out of my parking slot, the elderly lady caught my eye and obviously wanted to speak. I stopped and listened. "Can you drive me to Costco, please?", she asked in strongly-accented english. Now, the Costco was only about 4-5 blocks down the street, albeit back the way I came from, so I said, "Yes, ma'am, of course.".

I grabbed my own stuff out of the passenger seat, stuffed it all behind the seats, and then loaded her seven bags of groceries in my trunk.

Easing herself down into the very low seat of my car, she quipped, "Next time you bring bigger car."

During our brief ride together, I learned that her name was Pali, she was Iranian, and her husband was waiting for her at Costco.

"Iran is greatest country on earth", she informed me, "but the regime is very bad!"

"Khomeini was not a religious man", she continued, "His father was a hindu, and his mother was an englishwoman!"

Hey, I'm a waiter, so keeping a straight face when I want to howl with laughter is a job skill. I practiced it diligently, as I nodded and murmured polite agreement.

By that time we were at Costco, where I pulled into the fire lane close by the front door, piled her groceries into a cart for her, and saw her safely across the passing traffic. This last, by the way, was no small thing. A Southern Californian in pursuit of a vacant parking space will run down a little old lady without blinking http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

As she tottered off to meet her husband, I marvelled at her worldview, and how different it was from mine in so many ways.

Pali obviously had no qualms at all about asking total strangers for a short ride, and then trusting them. To a modern urban american, that's an eyebrow raiser in a few different ways.

I can't help but feel a certain scorn for the wealthy woman in her Mercedes 500, who was too good to give an old lady a ride.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home today
 

Ah yes, southern california motorists... in my approximately 5 years in Los Angeles, I've probably been thisclose to dozens of accidents. As a pedestrian. Who knows how many more there would have been if I was driving?

Persians are some of the nicest people I know. Most likely because if they're here, that means they were trying to get away from the authoritarian theocracy that took over their country. So that usually means they are much more moderate, and therefore nicer http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

In a day and age where the Boy Scouts are viewed as evil, your children are not safe to walk or play out side without supervision, and your faith is tested each and everyday, I fear that I would have probably declined her request because I have become a weakened paranoid SOB who has been drum beaten by the daily onslaught of negative news into the mind set that I need to fear everything, including, regrettably, even harmless insightful little old ladies. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

That was nice you of, I probably wouldn't have helped, too suspicious. Not because of her ethnicity, just in general http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

And as to the southern cali drivers, PLEASE KEEP THEM IN YOUR STATE! We don't need or want them moving up north to Oregon or Washington. They are so rude and us country bumpkins don't like to flipped off by the well dressed yahoo with the cell phone in one ear, blackberry in one hand, passing us in his shiny BMW at 70 mph as we drive our John Deer down the two lane road marked 35 MPH. [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Envy.gif[/img]

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Best bumper sticker I saw was in LA a few years ago on a business trip- " Now that you've seen California, GO HOME!"

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Only similar thing I can think of was 5 months ago. I was going to a bookshop/games/comic shop in town and as usual I went to park at the Car Park. So I'm driving along slowly looking for a spot, it's one where there's only one road so you look from side to side as you go from level to level. I saw what looked like rubbish, bits of paper lying on the ground (in retrospect, technically they are plastic). As I drove past I peered at the pile and thought "That rubbish looks sort of familiar....Hang on, it isn't is it?"
So I stopped my car at the turn with cars behind me. I held up my hand and walked around the car to the pile. I bent down and picked it up and there was $240 just lying there http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif. Since I am incapable of doing the wrong thing, Hey I'm Catholic, were incapable of making a decision without feeling guilty http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif, I turned it into the Attendants. The next week they said no-one had claimed it and told me to give it to the police (that way I can claim it if noone gets it). So after a 3 month wait I went back and managed to pocket $240, without feeling any guilt, though it does make me wonder who loses that much money but does nothing about it?

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Quite possibly, they had no idea where they lost it, and couldn't remember all the places they had been that day.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

I gave up feeling guilty about finding money and keeping it a while back after years of finding money on the floor while doing floor maintenance for the big red S when I was a teenager, and putting it into the charity jars. Then one day I saw the store manager empty those change jars into a bag and then put that bag into his brief case. Since then, I have seen many of the "Trusted" store manager of many big red S stores steal that money. It was free money to them so they just took it. I have NEVER dropped another penny into those charity jars any where! In retrospect, I am very happy that I do not work for those corrupt, lying, chickens**t bastards any more. The big red "S" can kiss my fat white butt.

Re: OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home tod
 

Omg, THAT'S HORRIBLE, Atro! But it does confirm my suspicions.

My cynicism with organised charities began with the United Way scandal, and reached its present peak when I learned that the Director of the California Red Cross is paid not just a salary of $600,000 per year, but various "allowances" that bring her total compensation to over $900,000 a year.

Most organised charities pass less than 50% of the money they collect on to the intended recipients, with the rest eaten up by huge salaries for top administrators, while most of the buttwork is done by unpaid volunteers. And if you think that sounds bad, remember that some charities pass only 10% of donations along to the needy, with 90% eaten up by huge salaries for their top administrators.

These days, I live by the adage that "charity begins at home".