Optimism Justified
I went to the grocery store. I got out the car, reading a text that my wife sent asking me to get something we forgot to put on the list. I shopped. I exited and approached the car. I reached into my pocket for the key.
Where’s the key? Oh, crap, did it fall out of my pocket in the store? Or, worse did I lock it the car? The car is a 2000 year model and the key-less entry mechanism stopped working years ago, so we have to push down the lock or use the key to lock the car. I pushed down the button upon exiting while reading aforementioned text and forgot to pull the key from the ignition. I go to the passenger side where I can see the ignition. Yep, there’s the key.
Begin fun. My wife and I were separated for about a year a couple years back, and during that time, she dropped me from AAA membership and forgot about it. I’m not on our AAA. I call the Wife. She calls AAA; they won’t help. I’m tired, frustrated, stressed. My wife has another key; we have only the one car. We debate on the phone about how to get me the key. By car, the store is less than 4 miles away and about 6 minutes travel. By foot, the store is over 5 miles away by an indirect route through at least one sketchy neighborhood. I disconnect and consider my options when I hear, “do you need a ride?” I look in the direction of the question and a woman in a minivan is asking. I relate my tale of woe in brief and respond “yes”, but I don’t want to impose on her and her family. She insists. She and her family drive me home; I get the key; they drive me back to my car. Optimism in humanity justified.