I had just walked out of the Verizon store today when a young man approached me in he parking lot and politely asked me if I could help him out with some change because he was out of gas.
Now, having grown up in New York and Chicago, my first instinct when approached is "Is this guy out to scam or rob me?"
Putting my instincts aside, I said "I've got five gallons in the trunk of my car, let's go". I was driving my old Desoto, and since I don't trust the fuel gauge I always carry extra.
So read on if you want to hear his story. It's one I fear may be all too common today.
I drove him across the street to the parking lot of an upscale suburban mall. He said he'd approached several people in the mall parking lot and they'd all rebuffed him.
He seemed like a nice enough young man. He was dressed in dirty jeans and an equally ratty looking t-shirt. He probably hadn't bathed in a while and I suspect he may be living out of his car. It was a pretty run-down looking Mercury Sable.
I poured the gas into his car while his equally young girlfriend tried to figure out what a Desoto was.
After we got him fueled up, his car wouldn't crank. Being an old gear-head from way back I figured out that his battery cable was loose. He got out some tools and together we managed to fix it even though the bolts were pretty stripped out.
Meanwhile he told me his story. He'd come up from Kentucky looking for work. Wasn't having any luck. Said he could do farm work or handyman work or even mow lawns.
After seeing the condition of his car and his clothes I asked him how he was set for cash. He said "I'm broke, man." I gave him what I had in my wallet and told him if I knew anyone who was looking I'd pass it on.
So that's the purpose of this diary.
They seemed like a sincere young couple who've fallen through the cracks in our economy. He seemed willing to take on the most menial of work and I have no reason to doubt him.
If anyone in the Columbus area knows of someone looking for a laborer I've got his name and phone # and you can PM me. He said his phone had been stolen so I don't know if it's a good phone number or not.
Sure, I suppose it's possible he was trying to scam me but I rather doubt it. It would take a lot of effort to look that convincing and his car was definitely in rough shape.