A little pick-me-up

I apparently might be one of those people who always looks in need of assistance. Or rides to different places. Or rides to "wherever you're going". This is a generalization on my part based on two occurrences in my life and a little bit of the benefit of the doubt.

The first occurrence was when I was eighteen. I had just finished my last day of my summer job at an outbound call center, which I absolutely loathed (the job and the call center, in case you were wondering at my ambiguity). I had taken the bus from my ex-office building to downtown and was awaiting my mother, who was going to come pick me up. As I was waiting, a forty-year-old man pulled over.

"Can I give you a ride?"
"Nope, I'm good."
"Well, why don't you let me give you a ride? I can take you wherever you're going."
"No, I'm just waiting for someone who's going to come meet me here."
"You look like you've been waiting a long time. Let me give you a ride."
"No thanks. She should be here any minute."
"OK, I'll come back in ten minutes and if she hasn't shown up, I'll give you a ride."

My mom showed up before ten minutes were up, for which I was grateful.

The second occurrence was this past Friday. Again, I had just finished work, and I was waiting for my husband to come pick me up. A forty-year-old man pulled over.

"Can I give you a ride to anywhere?"
"No thanks, I'm good. Just waiting for my husband."
"You sure?"
Yes, I was sure. So he left.

I'm thinking maybe there is an upside to my lost, in-desperate-need-of-a-ride image. Someday I'll be trying to hitchhike and somebody will pick me up. Or maybe it will be Bill Gates, and he will want to give me some money in addition to a ride. Or I will be famous or infamous, and will be able to hide from the paparazzi. Or maybe I'll narrowly avoid mugging by hopping into a random car. And here you thought I wouldn't be able to come up with any good upsides.