I saw a kid the other day...
He looked like my son. Around the same age, same build. If I hadn't known for sure that The Boy was nowhere near my neck of the woods, I totally would have thought it was him.
He needed help, this kid. He said that he'd been sitting in his car for a couple of hours, trying wave down some. He needed a jump. He said that some lady told him she would come back and help him when her husband came home. WHENEVER THAT WAS.
So he was still waiting.
I was just getting home from carpooling, and he was around the corner from my house. Mr. Toad, my carpool partner, didn't want to wait 5 minutes for me to give him a jump. So, I dropped her off and came right back.
(And then I called my cousin, because even though I was in MY neighborhood and I feel safe there, if it was in fact a trick and I was going to be abducted, SOMEBODY was gonna have a license plate number and a time/place of last location. Paranoia. I haz it.)
So this kid, who kinda laughed when I got on my cell phone because I'm pretty sure he knew why, had jumper cables. So did I, but he didn't give me a chance to tell him. Took less than five minutes.
I'm not one of those people who stop for other people in need. In fact, I usually, say that I wouldn't even stop if I saw a nun holding a baby. Because...ya know. Stranger Danger. (And WTF would a nun be doing with a baby?)
But.
This kid. He looked so much like my kid.
And I hope that if my kid ever needs help, and I'm not around, somebody stops and gives him a hand.
Showing posts with label karma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label karma. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Friday, August 14, 2009
F My Life
This morning I caught The Boy in bed with his half-naked girlfriend. HALF-naked because I timed *my bust in the door* perfectly. Fuck me right in the ass why don’t you, Karma? (Just because I once slept over to the THEN boyfriend's -now husband- and his Mom found me sleeping in the bed did not mean that *I* needed to have the same experience. REALLY)
My son, who has been home all of 3 months, is driving me insane. He moved up north becausehis girlfriend is going to school there he says he loved it so much that he wanted to live there and go to school even though:
1. He’d never even HEARD of it until his girlfriend took him up there to look at her school
2. He had no job
3. Or a place to stay
4. AND his parents are not rich
And since he STILL didn't have a job, and the friend with whom he'd been staying told him he needed to start paying rent, he decided to come home. Because I really did mean it when I said I’m not going to pay MY rent AND yours.
He came home, still not sure what he wants to do. Then we had a "I realize that college may not be for everyone, but if you DON'T go to school, then you sure as hell better get a job because you are not going to sit around the house playing your guitar all day and eating everything in the fridge" conversation.
I even told him that I know it’s hard to live WITH your parents once you haven’t, and so I’m not going spanking you about curfew (although, nothing is really open after 2AM in L.A. except legs, and I can’t have a boy with no job getting somebody pregnant, so do the math), and you’re too old for me to have to tell you what NOT to do. OR SO I THOUGHT.
I went to bed early because it’s my verb, but was startled awake because I hear doors opening & closing and while I’m lying there trying to decide if I should panic and wake The Man NOW or wait until some burglar bursts into our room and tries to kill me, I realize it’s The Boy trying to be all sneaky sneaky. And now that I’m awake, I have to pee. I notice that’s just a little past midnight, so I’m guessing The Boy thinks that everyone is sleeping and that his girlfriend is probably still here. So I give it a few more minutes and decide to scare them both and did I ever.
All I said was..."Really?"
If I'm going to be honest (and I am), I really wish I had a camera, because the look on that poor girl's face was HYSTERICAL and I wanted to laugh out loud, but I didn't. I'm sure she'd never been so embarrassed in her life, and that made me feel slightly better.
Then I said... "So, I'm assuming you know what to do now, right?"
Which she obviously did, because then she got dressed quick-fast and in a hurry.
But because I am totally about making sure You've Learned Your Lesson, I was waiting in the Living Room to making sure they both understood:
THE PARENTS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO GET TO FUCK UNDER THIS ROOF
That's right. In Bold. All Caps.
If you want to get laid, you get a hotel room, sneak back to HER parents house, have sex in the backseat of her car, but not here. NEVER here. And yes, I really did say that.
Why can't they just stay cute little babies forever? Gah...
My son, who has been home all of 3 months, is driving me insane. He moved up north because
1. He’d never even HEARD of it until his girlfriend took him up there to look at her school
2. He had no job
3. Or a place to stay
4. AND his parents are not rich
And since he STILL didn't have a job, and the friend with whom he'd been staying told him he needed to start paying rent, he decided to come home. Because I really did mean it when I said I’m not going to pay MY rent AND yours.
He came home, still not sure what he wants to do. Then we had a "I realize that college may not be for everyone, but if you DON'T go to school, then you sure as hell better get a job because you are not going to sit around the house playing your guitar all day and eating everything in the fridge" conversation.
I even told him that I know it’s hard to live WITH your parents once you haven’t, and so I’m not going spanking you about curfew (although, nothing is really open after 2AM in L.A. except legs, and I can’t have a boy with no job getting somebody pregnant, so do the math), and you’re too old for me to have to tell you what NOT to do. OR SO I THOUGHT.
I went to bed early because it’s my verb, but was startled awake because I hear doors opening & closing and while I’m lying there trying to decide if I should panic and wake The Man NOW or wait until some burglar bursts into our room and tries to kill me, I realize it’s The Boy trying to be all sneaky sneaky. And now that I’m awake, I have to pee. I notice that’s just a little past midnight, so I’m guessing The Boy thinks that everyone is sleeping and that his girlfriend is probably still here. So I give it a few more minutes and decide to scare them both and did I ever.
All I said was..."Really?"
If I'm going to be honest (and I am), I really wish I had a camera, because the look on that poor girl's face was HYSTERICAL and I wanted to laugh out loud, but I didn't. I'm sure she'd never been so embarrassed in her life, and that made me feel slightly better.
Then I said... "So, I'm assuming you know what to do now, right?"
Which she obviously did, because then she got dressed quick-fast and in a hurry.
But because I am totally about making sure You've Learned Your Lesson, I was waiting in the Living Room to making sure they both understood:
THE PARENTS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO GET TO FUCK UNDER THIS ROOF
That's right. In Bold. All Caps.
If you want to get laid, you get a hotel room, sneak back to HER parents house, have sex in the backseat of her car, but not here. NEVER here. And yes, I really did say that.
Why can't they just stay cute little babies forever? Gah...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Acts of Random Kindness
I am a random movie watcher. Especially these days...you know, these days where all I do is sit around with my leg up. Because my days are so boring, I sleep alot. And because I sleep alot during the day, I DON'T sleep a lot at night. So I watch stuff like "How to Marry a Millionaire", and "Ocean's Thirteen", and "Evan Almighty". Yeah, I said it. Evan Almighty. Quick synopsis: Evan, former anchorman, becomes a senator or something on the platform of Being the Change. He says a prayer of thanks for his new lot in life and prays for his family to become closer. God comes to him and says you want change? Start by building an ark. Hilarity ensues. Moral of the story: Change comes from Acts of Random Kindness (get it? A.R.K. yeah well, they were reaching, but I still find this movie ridiculously funny)
Anyways that's the subject of today's blog, boys and girls...umm...boy and girl? Okay, YOU.
RANDOM KINDNESS.
I just flew back from the Dirty South (and boy, are my arms tired..LOL. Ok. Sorry. I couldn't resist), and I was completely taken aback by the KINDNESS of the people that I met at the airport. This trip was especially trying for me because I was flying back for a funeral and so prone to being emotional, I was in a cast and so had to rely on perfect strangers to get me where I was going AND I was also in pain because the longer my leg was down, the more swollen it would become.
Don't get me wrong, the airport staff were surprisingly helpful. Should they be ashamed that I was surprised at their helpfulness? Or should I be shamed because I'm so used to maltreatment at LAX? Hmm.. They carted me around in my wheelchair and kept up friendly chatter. They didn't make me feel like it was a hassle to drag some lady in a pink cast around. Which I appreciate; I'm young enough to not like having to be carted around, and old enough to realize that they were doing it because it was their job, but it was the ATTITUDE that made the difference.
I'm talking about the people. The people who where on their way to Houston, or Florida or Tennessee. Stopping to help me pick up junk I've dropped trying to walk with crutches AND carry a purse. People who pulled my crutches from the overhead instead of making me wait on the flight attendant. The extremely nice man who had never been to the big city (when he found out I hailed from Los Angeles), who walked behind me when I got on the crop duster to my final destination...just in case I fall backwards (because walking on crutches up a ramp for the first time is much more difficult that you'd think) will be there to catch me.
People I'd only just met, and I'm sure will never see again. Kinder than kind. Helping me when I'm wobbling on my crutches, 'cause it's late, I'm tired and I've been on the freaking plane for 5 hours already and my leg is killing me and I STILL have to change planes ONE.MORE.TIME.
Maybe to them, picking up my crap wasn't a big deal. Or maybe the chick got my crutches down because they were in her way. Mayybe. Or maybe they just did it because I looked tired, or I was in a cast and looked like I could use some help. Either way, it made my trip easier to get through.
And it made me realize that these itty bitty acts of kindness, DO actually make a difference. After all, if the nice person hadn't picked up my crap when I dropped it walking over to the check-in terminal, I wouldn't have had my ID. Without my ID, I couldn't not have gotten on that plane. Then I would have been turning the place out, having a meltdown about how I JUST HAD MY ID and what kind of shithole airport is this where they rob women on crutches and THEN they would have called Airport Police where I would have gotten arrested, and The Man was already 1/2way to where he was going and would have said "Keep her trouble-making ass in lock up until I return." Then I would have to kill him, and then I'd be in jail for attempted murder and I can assure you, I don' t have enough bail money for that kind of drama.
Maybe I can't save the world. But maybe I can prevent somebody from going postal by just one teeny tiny Act of Random Kindness. Sometimes that's all it takes to make a difference.
Anyways that's the subject of today's blog, boys and girls...umm...boy and girl? Okay, YOU.
RANDOM KINDNESS.
I just flew back from the Dirty South (and boy, are my arms tired..LOL. Ok. Sorry. I couldn't resist), and I was completely taken aback by the KINDNESS of the people that I met at the airport. This trip was especially trying for me because I was flying back for a funeral and so prone to being emotional, I was in a cast and so had to rely on perfect strangers to get me where I was going AND I was also in pain because the longer my leg was down, the more swollen it would become.
Don't get me wrong, the airport staff were surprisingly helpful. Should they be ashamed that I was surprised at their helpfulness? Or should I be shamed because I'm so used to maltreatment at LAX? Hmm.. They carted me around in my wheelchair and kept up friendly chatter. They didn't make me feel like it was a hassle to drag some lady in a pink cast around. Which I appreciate; I'm young enough to not like having to be carted around, and old enough to realize that they were doing it because it was their job, but it was the ATTITUDE that made the difference.
I'm talking about the people. The people who where on their way to Houston, or Florida or Tennessee. Stopping to help me pick up junk I've dropped trying to walk with crutches AND carry a purse. People who pulled my crutches from the overhead instead of making me wait on the flight attendant. The extremely nice man who had never been to the big city (when he found out I hailed from Los Angeles), who walked behind me when I got on the crop duster to my final destination...just in case I fall backwards (because walking on crutches up a ramp for the first time is much more difficult that you'd think) will be there to catch me.
People I'd only just met, and I'm sure will never see again. Kinder than kind. Helping me when I'm wobbling on my crutches, 'cause it's late, I'm tired and I've been on the freaking plane for 5 hours already and my leg is killing me and I STILL have to change planes ONE.MORE.TIME.
Maybe to them, picking up my crap wasn't a big deal. Or maybe the chick got my crutches down because they were in her way. Mayybe. Or maybe they just did it because I looked tired, or I was in a cast and looked like I could use some help. Either way, it made my trip easier to get through.
And it made me realize that these itty bitty acts of kindness, DO actually make a difference. After all, if the nice person hadn't picked up my crap when I dropped it walking over to the check-in terminal, I wouldn't have had my ID. Without my ID, I couldn't not have gotten on that plane. Then I would have been turning the place out, having a meltdown about how I JUST HAD MY ID and what kind of shithole airport is this where they rob women on crutches and THEN they would have called Airport Police where I would have gotten arrested, and The Man was already 1/2way to where he was going and would have said "Keep her trouble-making ass in lock up until I return." Then I would have to kill him, and then I'd be in jail for attempted murder and I can assure you, I don' t have enough bail money for that kind of drama.
Maybe I can't save the world. But maybe I can prevent somebody from going postal by just one teeny tiny Act of Random Kindness. Sometimes that's all it takes to make a difference.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)