Left work today at around 4:40 - plenty of time to beat the traffic, right? That was the plan, as I wanted to take the slightly longer, non-toll route today. Well, I ran into a few delays. I stopped for gas at the station nearest school, in the Seminole Heights part of Tampa. I walked in to pay, and saw and smelled a strange man with a towel or piece of clothing over his head and face, gesturing wildly (at someone?) toward the windows, mumbling and filling out a lottery purchase slip. Great! At least he wasn't in line in front of me! Only reminding myself now, that I should say a prayer for people who are obviously having emotional difficulty, instead of simply avoiding them.
Then I saw a somewhat anxious looking petite lady looking around the convenience store, but not getting in line to buy anything. Soon learned that her car had broken down a couple of blocks away, and her cell phone had no charge. She was getting pretty flustered by the fact that there are no payphones anywhere, not even at a gas station store, which always had them in the past. So, I'm thinking I don't know this lady, should I let her use my phone? Could it be a scam and she is trying to take my phone or money? But something about her seemed okay, and it really is a pretty decent neighborhood.
So, I offered to call someone for her and asked her name and the friend's name and number. Maria wanted me to call Larry for her. Hmm, odd coincidence, today is the day we Catholics celebrate the birthday of the Virgin Mary. Once I got Larry on the phone, I decided, this is silly, she's just a regular person in a pickle, and I give her the phone to talk to Larry. Knowing, she had help on the way, I put my phone away and went back to the car to continue my trip. I was feeling few minutes were lost, I had done a good deed, and here I was right by the on-ramp to I-275, no worries.
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