I met a nutty lady in the parking lot at Wegman’s today. She locked her keys in the car and asked me if I had a hanger so she could try to unlock the door. That wasn’t the nutty part. It was a little, maybe. She was parked only two spaces away, and she saw me when I came out of the store (I noticed her then, but didn’t realize she was locked out.), but she didn’t ask for help until I’d started the car and put it in reverse. Then she knocked on my window and scared the crap out of me. Why not ask while I was putting the groceries in the trunk or returning the cart to the corral? Anyway, when I didn’t have a hanger, she asked if she could try my keys.
Excuse me?
That might have made a tiny bit of sense if our cars were made by the same company, but hers wasn’t a Hyundai, so…how is that supposed to work exactly?
She TOOK my keys out of my hand (I certainly don’t remember giving them to her) and tried to break my car key off in her lock. That’s what I assumed, anyway, based on the amount of force she was using to get the thing to turn. Her friend (there was a friend) kept telling her it wouldn’t work. It didn’t.
I got my keys back and suggested they call their insurance company. Then I backed away slowly (sudden movements might startle the crazy lady) and got in my car to make my getaway.
Lesson: Don’t help people? No… Always keep a wire hanger in the car? Maybe. Don’t let loony ladies take your keys! That’s the one.
Corey
you should have told her for her particular model car there’s a hidden compartment underneath her trunk that contains an unlock lever just for this situation, then driven a safe distance away to watch how long she would spend looking for it. I’m glad you have a blog so you can tell us stories about stoopid peoples.
Zannah
I’ll remember that one and use it next time. I’m sure there will be a next time. And I’m glad you’re glad.
IBCRandy
I was driving back to my parents house from Common Grounds (this was sometime around high school, when I still had the van) and was stopped at a light on Versailles Road. Some lady with a kid just opened my passenger door, got in with the kid, and asked if I could drive her just a few streets down because her kid was tired of walking. I was a little stunned by her audacity, but there was a little kid (he was maybe 7) and I just didn’t know how to react. Where it just her there might have been some harsh select words that ended with “and get the hell out!”. But there was a kid, so I drove her the few blocks. She thanked me, got out, and walked away.
The especially strange part was she didn’t really even ask for a ride so much as told me to give her one. In retrospect she may have been a Jedi.
Zannah
She must have been. But from then on, you made sure your doors were locked. Right? I started checking after I heard a story on the radio about carjackers in Lexington. I was sitting at a light on Versailles, near your house, middle of the day, and I got the chills and leaned right on over to the passenger side and snicked that lock down. Never drove without making sure all doors were locked again.