It was already an offbeat morning, as I left the house to find two cute contractors working on something in our small ground floor hallway. I pulled up to the stoplight outside of our apt. building and noticed an older woman, probably in her 70s, being helped by a young lobbyist (my guess only) who was waiting for the bus. She had blown a tire on a nearby curb and had pulled her car off to the side in our parking lot.
I rolled down the window and he asked if I had a cell phone for her to use - she looked as if she had just rolled out of bed and was dressed in a long black wool coat and flip flops. No socks, and the temp was at a solid 8°F w/ windchill. I got out of the car and she was practically screeching how her husband couldn't do anything for her, that calling him was of no use, that she was on the way to a doctor's appt. and the doctor would be furious with her. It was all very odd.
She got in my car and kept moaning & moaning, and nothing I said made her feel better - I had to run a quick errand across the street and I just kept hoping that the car would warm up so her feet wouldn't freeze.
I drove her to where her husband worked (the Mailboxes store down the street) -she kept saying he was too old and wouldn't be able to help her; then as I drove away, I thought - he has a job, he must be somewhat functional.
I won't lie - as I drove to work, a vision of Eunice MacCready from Cloak & Dagger leapt into my head. The kindly old woman, who ends up being the spy missing two fingers!!! I used to have nightmare upon nightmare of that woman.
P.S. To make it weirdČ, I just pulled out my wallet to buy a soda & an extreme smell wafted out when I opened it. The woman had kept trying to give me $6 for helping her and I refused over and over, but she slipped it under my cup holder while I was running the errand, and I didn't see it 'til I got to work. It has now made my entire wallet reek of mothballs. *Sigh*
Posted by zippy at January 21, 2004 11:54 AM