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H Katz's avatar

Hi Rey,

Would I get into a car with a stranger? No!!

Did I ever? Yes, twice.

This was in Boston, in the late 1960s. The Boston Strangler was fresh on everyone's minds.

Nonetheless, a bunch of us college kids spontaneously decided to hitchhike on Huntington Avenue to a party one late Friday afternoon. A guy picked us up, he said, so that nobody else would. He scolded us for stupidly risking our lives, but he brought us to our party destination safely.

Two years later, my date's car ran out of gas around 11:30 pm Saturday night. There were no cell phones in those days. We were walking around in the middle of nowhere and feared for our safety.

A creepy looking stranger pulled over, heard our plight, and offered us a ride to get gas. We squeezed into his creepy front seat. I kept my hand on the door handle for a quick escape if needed. My date, between us, kept his hand on the pocket knife in his jacket, just in case.

As we got out of the creepy stranger's car, he told us he was more scared than we were. But because we reminded him of his small children who might be in trouble some day, he took a chance on us. His weird small eyes stared at me nervously, and he whispered to me: If I found his daughter lost in the street ten years from now, would I please help her out?

Safe travels! Love reading your stories! Fabulous photos! Enjoy your trip!

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LC Sharkey (they/them)'s avatar

It sounds like a great visit. Thanks for describing it for us. True, but I am not proud of it: when I read the title question, my first thought was "Hell No!" Years ago, when I lived in LA, I offered a ride to a young man I didn't know -- I don't remember the circumstances, or why I felt compelled to offer him a ride. What I remember was second-guessing myself the entire time, and despite his kind and gracious demeanor, I felt relieved when we got where he needed to go, and he got out of my car. I felt good about having extended the kindness, at the same time I felt foolish and careless for offering a total stranger a ride. It makes me sad, knowing that I have yet to unlearn my unconscious assumptions that danger and conflict are more likely than kindness and cooperation, and what's even sadder is that I am not odd in this way; it is the prevalent assumption in our culture. That sadness coexists with the knowledge that it is entirely reasonable for many people (including myself) to err on the side of mistrust. <sigh>

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