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An adventure
Dec. 15th, 2017 07:35 pmI was paying for a few gifts at Crossgates Mall when a distraught older woman came up beside me and asked the clerk if there was some way she could make an emergency phone call. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't react immediately, and he sent her to another department... but when I finished paying, I followed and offered my help.
To somewhat shorten a long story, Ellen is a somewhat inexperienced driver, having been mostly a NYC dweller until recently. (She also apparently has led quite a sheltered life; she uses a computer, but had never used a cell phone before, was startled by self-service drinks in McDonald's, and was shocked at keyless ignition in her rental car.) She had rented a car near her new home west of Albany to come to Latham for a medical appointment, and the rental place helpfully set the GPS for her, and told it no interstate... but when she went to return home, it lost that programming, and possibly malfunctioned entirely, and she had been driving around totally confused for literally several hours. (I initially thought she was exaggerating, but as she mentioned places she'd been, and commented on things she'd seen earlier-- yes, she had been driving for at least 2 hours.)
She was far too distraught to simply give her directions; so I bought her lunch, and talked to the car rental company, and ultimately helped her drop the car off at Albany airport and drove her home, quite a bit west of Albany. (Hubby picked us up at the airport, and drove us back to the car I had left at the mall.) I am actually being embarrassingly well compensated-- she bought gas and food, and the rental company is giving me a code for two free days' rental-- but most of all, I'm just really glad I stepped in.
To somewhat shorten a long story, Ellen is a somewhat inexperienced driver, having been mostly a NYC dweller until recently. (She also apparently has led quite a sheltered life; she uses a computer, but had never used a cell phone before, was startled by self-service drinks in McDonald's, and was shocked at keyless ignition in her rental car.) She had rented a car near her new home west of Albany to come to Latham for a medical appointment, and the rental place helpfully set the GPS for her, and told it no interstate... but when she went to return home, it lost that programming, and possibly malfunctioned entirely, and she had been driving around totally confused for literally several hours. (I initially thought she was exaggerating, but as she mentioned places she'd been, and commented on things she'd seen earlier-- yes, she had been driving for at least 2 hours.)
She was far too distraught to simply give her directions; so I bought her lunch, and talked to the car rental company, and ultimately helped her drop the car off at Albany airport and drove her home, quite a bit west of Albany. (Hubby picked us up at the airport, and drove us back to the car I had left at the mall.) I am actually being embarrassingly well compensated-- she bought gas and food, and the rental company is giving me a code for two free days' rental-- but most of all, I'm just really glad I stepped in.
