Pull Up to the Bumper

A very welcomed dip in the humidity register, and I was all for dressing up a little more nicely than the usual summer khaki and polo shirt regime. Spiffy and feeling a bit of swagger, I stopped at the cafe as it approached mid-afternoon.

In the parking lot, a guy leaving in a pick-up truck caught my attention as I was about to drop some change in the ticket machine - "yo!" he accosted, holding out a ticket between thumb and forefinger in a matter-of-fact detached way. I thanked him twice for saving me twenty cents. There was a ridiculous amount of time on the ticket.

I wondered why he singled me out to give it to. Perhaps I was simply the closest of ticket seekers as he was pulling out. In the brief glimpse I had of him, he looked like he worked construction - sweaty, dusty and in old clothes and a filthy baseball cap. Here I am in my clean white collared shirt and pleated dress trousers. We couldn't be more different. If you go by appearances we represent two very different social classes. But appearances deceive. You can never tell. As I was the beneficiary of his small philanthropic gesture, I felt like I owed something - a mitzvah for some other stranger in need. I should keep the chain of the random act of benefit. I'm not sure it really qualifies as kindness as much as a practical utilization of resources - you do it because it helps someone else out but neither does it inconvenience you.

I got myself fueled up with some iced coffee, lingered briefly to chat with an aquaintance at the cafe and then headed back to my car in the lot. It only took moments, so on my way out I realize there's still at least a 1/2 hour on the ticket. Pulling past me is a young woman in a tiny Korean version of the SUV. We both have our windows down and we're both driving very slowly. I hold the ticket out my window and give her a look that I hope says "can you use this?" - going for that casual, nonverbal thing. I also have a Pink CD on in the car, and it's rather loud - bhump bhump ka-thumpa bhump. It makes you want to swing your ass around in crazy dancing ways. I look over my sunglasses at her. The SUV woman has blonde streaks/highlights in her hair and a big white and straight toothed smile. She's like a sorority girl who takes sport management hoping to land a manager job with Gold's Gym. I bet there's a Principles of Marketing textbook in the passenger seat next to her Ipod mini.

We're just a little too far apart to do a drive-by handoff, so she throws her car in park and opens her door to lean out, smiling thanks and mouthing the word while batting her eyes, hair flowing over her tan shoulders. The music makes it unreal. We've just pantomimed the whole thing. Gone with a wave. I wonder if she continued the chain?