Helping those in need

You never know when you will be down on your luck and may need help. One day it may be me with the broken down vehicle and I'll be the one needing help. I hope others will offer assistance. Likewise, I tend to offer help when I think it's needed. If nothing else, maybe I'm creating some positive karma.

A situation presented itself last week.
I was filling up my truck at one of the local gas stations. As I was finishing up, I saw a guy that looked pretty upset on his phone. He walked over to a girl that I assumed he knew, spoke for a moment, then walked away. Then as I was finishing up, he walked over to me and hung up the phone. He gave a sob story about his vehicle being on fumes, the computer inside warned it was 2 miles to empty, him being 20 miles from home and his wallet being left at home. He swore that he wasn't one of "those people" that beg and he said that he was a hard worker. He was actually fairly distraught. Anyway, I dont usually carry cash, but I did have three bucks on me. I gave it to him. He seemed so grateful. Either he was really happy for the kindness of a stranger, or he was a conman that just scored three bucks. Either way, I didn't mind taking that risk of $3.

I had nearly forgot about that encounter, when I was filling up again. This time I was at the station directly across the street from the one the previous week. I noticed the guy across from me looked kind of like that other guy. He was better dressed and not upset. Maybe it was the same guy. Maybe not. I continued to fill the tank. This guy pops his hood and leaves it popped after checking the oil. He walks over and says , "excuse me sir, I'm having a bit of trouble." He looks at the car and says, "oh, not that. I'm just checking the oil". He is not at all distraught. He calmly tells me that his light is on that says 2 miles to empty, that he is like 20 miles from home and he left his wallet at home.

I never broke eye contact, pointed to the station across the street and said, "that's funny because you told me that exact story at that station just last week." I didn't look away, but he did. He said, "uh, I dont remember that." Then he looked at his feet and walked away talking to himself. "I swear. I really dont remember that. I just dont remember...". He closed the hood, hopped in the car and drove off in the blink of an eye. Question answered. He was a conman. I assume he worked one station for a day, then moved on. Only he moved to the other station that I use. People like him are truly pathetic. I have mixed feelings about him. I feel kind of sorry for the guy, however I also hope somebody else catches him in scheme and breaks his nose. :-) I guess I'm too nice and composed to do so myself, but I wouldn't upset to know someone else did it.