For the last 3 years we have seen a grubby looking guy at a major traffic light on the way to the university. He was there when there was plenty of work, and now he’s still there. He bothers motorists stopped at the light and some even give him money.
His actions are actually ILLEGAL here, it’s called a traffic violation.
We ignore him, but some day he will be run over and the bleeding heart newspapers will call it a tragedy.
I used to carry jumper cables–mostly for my own good–and did help a few people out on occasion. However, I stopped carrying those cables years ago. With the advent of cell phones (which everyone seems to have) it is just so easy to call for road service that I don’t see the need for self-help with dead batteries anymore.
Several years ago, as I parked my car at work, a woman pulled into the space next to me, and as I exited the car I noticed that her right front tire was almost flat and that the sidewall had several large gouges in it. In an attempt at helping her, I called it to her attention, and she gave me a puzzled look.
So, still trying to be helpful, I said “I won’t be able to help you with the tire without making myself late for work, but hopefully you can find somebody who will help you to change the tire. Just be sure that you don’t continue to drive on that tire, as it is no longer safe to drive on”. She then asked me why the tire was flat, and although I thought that it was a rather odd question, I told her that she might have run over a nail, or a piece of glass, or–in light of the condition of the sidewall of the tire–it was very possible that the tire would no longer hold air as a result of having hit the curb several times.
She then got an enraged look on her face, and proceeded to SCREAM at me, “I’ve NEVER hit a curb in my life!” I simply turned on my heel, murmured “Have a nice day”, and walked away from that crazy woman.
And thus ended my attempts at trying to help people with car problems.
I once changed a flat tire on a big Mercury for four women on their way to a Women’s Liberation meeting! They seemed totally disinterested in how tires were changed on the road and I barely got a thank you.
“I once changed a flat tire on a big Mercury for four women on their way to a Women’s Liberation meeting!”
Love it. Sometimes we do feel like slaves though. I’ve tried to show the wife how the mower, snow blower, operates and simple car and home stuff without much success. I say what would you do if something happened to me and she replies she would just hire someone. And probably with my money too.
"And probably with my money too "-- shouldn’t that be with our money ?
""And probably with my money too “-- shouldn’t that be with our money ?”
Well we have my money, her money, and our money. I jest some. I think its important though for people to have their own accounts for a number of reasons including being able to stand on their own if something happens to the other.
I’m one of those rare lucky ones. My wife can (and has, and will again if I’m not home) mow the lawn, fix plumbing problems (including installing new piping), change tires on her car, drywall, handle the fireplace, manage all of our finances and still manages to dress in a business suit every day and go to work, and cook almost every day. Yep. She’s a keeper. I’ll help this one any time. 
I also tend to help all my neighbors. I was woken up one night at about 12:30 (I get up for work at 4AM). “He” was away on business and she was home alone with her two boys. The drain on the air handler in the attic had blocked (due to lack of maintenance), the drain pan filled, and it had dripped all over the attic, down through the walls behind the paint, damaging just about everything from the attic, through the second floor to the first. I cleaned up the drain pan, cleaned the line, and had them call the HVAC company that installed it to come back and fix it. The pan wasn’t tilted the right way, and the emergency drain was dry. This kind of help I’d rather not do - but I will. Attics in Texas in the middle of summer…are…well, let’s just say “warm”.
@chaisos I was on a project in Washington state with an engineer from Texas. One day there was a panic call from his wife in Houston. The water heater in the attic had sprung a leak. He could only tell her to shut the water off and call a plumber. Much damage was done. Why they put these things in the attic is beyond me. Mine is in the basement 2 feet away from the floor drain. We’ve had 3 heaters spring leaks in the last 30 years, and no damage was done.