The Stranger I Met Today

My friend Kate and I decided to take her dog for a walk.  Last Sunday was a perfect spring afternoon.  The sun was out, pastel blossoms swayed on the trees, and the smell of freshly cut grass was everywhere.  Kate’s dog led the way, ears first.  Hoss is a French Bulldog with a larger-than-life personality.  (And I swear he’s one of those genius dogs because he understands everything. )

Hoss piloted the walk with a distinct determination to find us a destination.  Abruptly, a car appeared in front of us, blocking a portion of the sidewalk.  Her window was down and she hadn’t initially noticed us, so when she turned her head in our direction, we heard her let out a little gasp.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t even see you there.  I try not to back out because it’s so hard to see.  You can go around.” 

“We’re in no hurry.  Go ahead,” I said to her.  The driver nodded back at us and continued in reverse.  We hadn’t noticed, until she was completely blocking the sidewalk with about a foot of her very long Towncar peeking onto the roadway, that her driveway was right in the middle of a curve on a fairly busy street.  Cars passed by as if they were on a conveyor belt.  There was no way for us to get around her without climbing on top of her car or walking out into the street.  The driver looked at us and started to laugh.

“I’m never going to get out of here.  I’m sorry about this.  Do you want me to pull back into the driveway?”

“No,” Kate said, “then you’re going to have to back out again.  We’re fine.”  The cars just kept coming and the woman started to laugh again.  Then, a car came around the curve and slowed.  At first it looked like the approaching Mercedes was going to try and stop traffic for the Towncar, but instead passed slowly and then stopped in front of us, several feet from the curb. 

“Halllooooo!  Lost.  Atlantic City?” a man called out to me from the driver’s seat.  The driver of the Towncar heard me say “Atlantic City?” back to the Indian man and wife, so the she yelled out.  (We were all close.  Hoss paced back and forth between the cars as the dialogue was exchanged). 

“He can follow me back to Route 40, if I ever get out of here.”  She repeated herself a few times in the moments that followed, assuring us that she was headed in that direction. 

Traffic behind the Mercedes had started to backup.  I remained on the sidewalk and motioned for the Mercedes driver to pull over completely so I could give him directions and get him out of the road.  He slowly moved the car until it was just a few inches away from the curb.  And there we were - a woman who needed to back out, but couldn’t, that was headed towards Route 40, a husband and wife traveling to Atlantic City who were in search of Route 40 and Kate, Hoss, and I who were essentially trapped by the cars.  If Kate, Hoss, and I were to turn back and walk the way we had come from, we would have then been headed towards…Route 40. 

Now dear reader, I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking that, the woman driver and the Indian couple decided to form a mutually beneficial temporary alliance.  You’re thinking that they both had a vision of embarking on the arduous journey to Route 40 together.  You’re thinking that they bid Kate, Hoss, and I adieu and road off into the sunset – the Towncar guiding the Mercedes along, like a younger sister trailing behind an older brother through the backyard.  That didn’t happen at all. 

There was break in traffic.  The woman driving the Towncar peeled out and left, waiving her hand at us as she drove away.  The woman in the Mercedes miraculously managed to get the GPS working on her iPhone and she and her husband yelled out ‘thank-you’ as they pulled out on to the road.  As quickly as we were blocked in and surrounded by cars, all the cars were gone and the road was completely clear.  

Lesson Learned

Both people and roadblocks can appear out of nowhere and disappear just as fast.