jmfargo: (Default)
jmfargo ([personal profile] jmfargo) wrote2006-06-14 09:06 am
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I Win Again!

So what is it about mornings that make me feel like helping people out of a bind? I know I'm not this proactive in the afternoons or evenings, when the sun is out. It must have something to do with a lack of sleep that leads to a general sense of "do goodness."

Rush hour again. Stranded car on the side of the freeway, right before a large bridge, so they're on what could barely be considered the shoulder of the road. I see them up ahead, and note that they have out of state plates. Living in Buffalo, near Niagara Falls I have an inkling of what's going on, and normally I'd just drive by with a slight chuckle. This morning, I must have been tired, I stopped.

Right after I stopped I realized that I would have to contend with the thousands of rushing cars going inches away from my driver side door. Stopping was a nice act, but one that put me in deadly danger. Timing it well so as to just barely manage getting out of the way of being smooshed by a giagantic tractor trailer, I threw open my door, used it as a spring board to jump to the front of my car, and slid down dramatically, landing on my feet in a Jackie Chan-esqu manner. Either that, or I slammed it shut behind me and ran like a scared little girl but the truth is less fun.

I saw the map as I got closer, and knew that I was right. Must be some kind of psychic sense I'm having in the morning. "Could you tell us how to get to Niagara Falls" asked the passenger as the driver spoke up "We're fine, thanks, we can read the map." I quirked an eyebrow, sat on the side railing of the road that stood over a 20 foot embankment and asked whether or not they needed my help.

"Yes."
"No."
Came the reply.

I appreciated that they could clear it up so well for me. The passenger leaned out of the open window and whispered sotto voce, "She's embarassed that we're lost. See, we came all the way by car from California, and this is the first time we aren't sure where we are." We shared a knowing grin as though to say "We've all been there" and I pointed them on their way. They both thanked me, the driver looked relieved, and finding the perfect opening in traffic, they bound away.

Leaving me to find a way to get back in my car.

I won't recount the epic struggle that occured between me and the traffic both in getting into my car, and then finding a way to accellerate to 60 before getting mangled by yet another high-speed tractor trailer, but suffice it to say, I won.*

I hate mornings.


*+50 xp for the traffic dodging, +25 for helping fellow humans find their way, -10 for possibly giving wrong directions.

[identity profile] jfargo.livejournal.com 2006-06-15 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
I can agree with the monk for you, but not knowing your rogue skills I'm not sure. ;)

See below for my response to TT for what I believe I am.

[identity profile] akdidge.livejournal.com 2006-06-15 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Well my rogue skills came from my miscreant youth. Or something like that.

I'm also pretty fast at unlocking vehicle doors if given a slim jim. When I worked security for the college campus you wouldn't believe how many people would end up with their keys locked in their vehicles (or their battery dead, and the one day I wasn't watching and zapped myself with the recharger and not the car battery but that's another story for another day). I'd typically have to, "open" at least one car/truck every other day. I worked there for about two years (if memory serves right). Because of this I got very fast at unlocking vehicles. I could even bypass most, "anti-theft" vehicles too. Some students were impressed, others were concerned. ;)