roger's car doesn't go here anymore
So, my car got stuck in the snow yesterday. I was trying to get out of my lot and had nice, slushy, snowy, icey mix of precipitation under my wheels. Fortunately for me I had walked to the lot with a buddy of mine. I let him drive while I tried to push. But, I'm a sissy and that didn't work. Within a minute, a guy stopped his jeep and asked if he could help - SURE! And then another guy (i.e. hobo) stopped and was like, "Wait. I need to get you some traction." I have no idea what he had in mind (the bones of other defeated hoboes), but the 3 of us were able to get my car moving again. (Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I nickname him, "Salty Dogg Hobo").
Soon after, I got going, but was quickly in another could-potentially-get-stuck situation, so I yelled, "THANKS!" really loud out the window and drove off. What exactly is protocol in that situation? Do I stop the car and give everyone high five? A dignified fist-pump out the window? I was kind of funny because the "push out" was a multi-cultural affair. I kept thinking we were one lady in a wheelchair away from making it an after school special. She didn't show though. Besides, what kind of towing power does a motorized wheelchair have anyway.
The whole thing reminded me of another time during the worst-snowstorm-in-the-history-of-me-getting-my-car-stuck when I was on a road - and it was really bad, people were literally abandoning their cars in mid-street - just spinning my wheels, completely unable to get my car going. It was a relatively low-grade hill, but, man was I stuck. I was there for a good 15-20 minutes when two teenage guys passed by. They signalled if I wanted help. Hells yes. They pushed and I was able to get the car going. I had a mind to stop and give them both like 50 bucks, but there was no way I was going to slow down and risk getting stuck again. So I had to honk the horn in appreciation/jubilation and hope the gods repaid their kind deed in time. I still kind of feel bad I didn't pre-pay for that one.
I guess Cleveland is a great place to get your car stuck in the snow.
posted by roger at 4:05 PM
2 Comments:
Our city is good for that too. But usually it's a ton of middle age ladies that pour out of their homes and cars to all push in their dress pants and high heels. It's odd.
4:13 PM
Good to know Minneapolis isn't the only city with snow and slush and ice still. I got stuck last winter a couple of times (which is why I haven't set foot in my car since December). One time, a fellow actually came out of his apartment to help me out, shoveling and pushing away. I felt like I didn't pull my weight, since I just sat in my car pressing the gas pedal. When I got unstuck, I found the wave/fist-pump a good combo to thank him. But, really, I think the best way to repay the deed is to simply pay it forward, and help out someone in a similar situation. Snow can be a huge hassle, but that type of situation brings out the absolute best in people, it seems.
5:50 PM
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