City City Bang Bang - One Dollar Dilemma
After a great holiday in minneapolis with friends, the weekend before last, i had to catch a flight to NY early monday morning. The plane would land at JFK airport at 10:30am, and from there i had decided to take a subway to the bus stop, and eventually catch a bus to New Jersey to reach office directly by around 1pm.
well everything had to work with clock like precision for that, with my plan being :
10:30am land at JFK
10:40am catch air-train to subway.
10:50am buy tickets to subway.
11:00am catch a subway train to the bus depot.
11:45am reach Port Authority Bus Stop.
12:00 catch Bus to NJ and reach office by 1pm....
hmmm, sleek as my plan was, i could not miss the 12:00 bus to NJ at any cost, which kept me on tenterhooks throughout the journey. while i landed at JFK on time, it took longer to get down the plane, and subsequently my plan showed signs of falling apart. The subway kept me in good stead, but i ended up reaching 5 minutes late for the bus, which unluckily left on time for me to miss it just in time ! While i used to curse buses in bangalore for being late, i didn't realize that it had given me as much flexibility as it had for the BMTC bus driver :D
Realizing i had no choice but to wait for the next bus at 1:00pm, i decided to catch up on some food and lose myself in the make-shift mall nearby.
Port Authority is a huge place in NY city, and though it isn't very difficult to find directions to places there, some of the areas there isn't where one would like to find him/her self alone. Huge as it comes, some of its alleys are dingy and secluded.
I loitered around with my backpack, looking like a cave dweller lost in a city when a lady came in from behind me. She spoke good english, and was probably in her late 20s.
Lady : "Excuse me sir, you look like a good man to me"
pleasantly surprised, i knew she was speaking the truth :)
Lady : " I was here early in the morning, when i was robbed off my belongings, now i can't stay here alone !"
it looked like she was trying to drive my attention to her soggy eyes, while i was busy munching pretzels.
Me : "oh i am sorry... contact the police, they'll be able to help you" ...pretzels still stuffed in my mouth.
Lady : "i contacted them and they say it'll take 24 hours to catch the goons and i'll need to stay here till then..."
Me : "but..."
before i could complete, she thrusted upon me a sheet of crushed paper, with obscure markings that looked like some calculation...
Lady : "I have calculated how much i need to go back home, i need 67$, and i have collected 50$ already, can you help me ?"
The Pretzels seemed to have stuck in my throat, after the difference in amount dawned on me. I had a ticket to NJ, and 5 1$ notes, and a bug bear key chain i bought as a souvenir from minnesota and of course a sack full of clothes. I could part with the bug bear if she insisted, but then it was a wrong time to exchange souvenirs, i concluded.
Having never been in such a position before, i could not tell if she was trying to trick me or not, and 17$ is a lot of money if one is getting cheated. So i decided to play safe taking out the 1$ notes out of my pocket. I had to lie fast and soon. picking 2 notes, i said :
Me : "See i have 2$ with me, and i need 1$ to go back home, so i can spare you 1$"
Darn ! what was i thinking !...if she was a crook, she must have laughed her head out. Not only what i had just said, a stinking lie, it was so apparent that it almost looked illegal.
Lady : "I'll take that, and if you give me your address, i'll probably send you a cheque"
Hehehe, now she must be thinking she is talking to a postbox. i can't look so dumb, whichever angle !
after a pause, she started off again...this time trying to wipe off her non-existant tears...
Lady : "Do i look like i have cried a lot ? "... now almost smiling !
Lady, i am the one who's lost a dollar here, if anyone it's me who should be crying ! One more dollar loss for me and i might as well join you and go around telling people that i got robbed !
Me : "No, i don't think so"...i answered meekly, shaking my head like i was struck by a gong.
it was 12:45pm by then, and without looking back i hurried towards the bus stop again !
I will never know if she was lying or indeed needed the money...
....and so stays the one dollar dilemma !
well everything had to work with clock like precision for that, with my plan being :
10:30am land at JFK
10:40am catch air-train to subway.
10:50am buy tickets to subway.
11:00am catch a subway train to the bus depot.
11:45am reach Port Authority Bus Stop.
12:00 catch Bus to NJ and reach office by 1pm....
hmmm, sleek as my plan was, i could not miss the 12:00 bus to NJ at any cost, which kept me on tenterhooks throughout the journey. while i landed at JFK on time, it took longer to get down the plane, and subsequently my plan showed signs of falling apart. The subway kept me in good stead, but i ended up reaching 5 minutes late for the bus, which unluckily left on time for me to miss it just in time ! While i used to curse buses in bangalore for being late, i didn't realize that it had given me as much flexibility as it had for the BMTC bus driver :D
Realizing i had no choice but to wait for the next bus at 1:00pm, i decided to catch up on some food and lose myself in the make-shift mall nearby.
Port Authority is a huge place in NY city, and though it isn't very difficult to find directions to places there, some of the areas there isn't where one would like to find him/her self alone. Huge as it comes, some of its alleys are dingy and secluded.
I loitered around with my backpack, looking like a cave dweller lost in a city when a lady came in from behind me. She spoke good english, and was probably in her late 20s.
Lady : "Excuse me sir, you look like a good man to me"
pleasantly surprised, i knew she was speaking the truth :)
Lady : " I was here early in the morning, when i was robbed off my belongings, now i can't stay here alone !"
it looked like she was trying to drive my attention to her soggy eyes, while i was busy munching pretzels.
Me : "oh i am sorry... contact the police, they'll be able to help you" ...pretzels still stuffed in my mouth.
Lady : "i contacted them and they say it'll take 24 hours to catch the goons and i'll need to stay here till then..."
Me : "but..."
before i could complete, she thrusted upon me a sheet of crushed paper, with obscure markings that looked like some calculation...
Lady : "I have calculated how much i need to go back home, i need 67$, and i have collected 50$ already, can you help me ?"
The Pretzels seemed to have stuck in my throat, after the difference in amount dawned on me. I had a ticket to NJ, and 5 1$ notes, and a bug bear key chain i bought as a souvenir from minnesota and of course a sack full of clothes. I could part with the bug bear if she insisted, but then it was a wrong time to exchange souvenirs, i concluded.
Having never been in such a position before, i could not tell if she was trying to trick me or not, and 17$ is a lot of money if one is getting cheated. So i decided to play safe taking out the 1$ notes out of my pocket. I had to lie fast and soon. picking 2 notes, i said :
Me : "See i have 2$ with me, and i need 1$ to go back home, so i can spare you 1$"
Darn ! what was i thinking !...if she was a crook, she must have laughed her head out. Not only what i had just said, a stinking lie, it was so apparent that it almost looked illegal.
Lady : "I'll take that, and if you give me your address, i'll probably send you a cheque"
Hehehe, now she must be thinking she is talking to a postbox. i can't look so dumb, whichever angle !
after a pause, she started off again...this time trying to wipe off her non-existant tears...
Lady : "Do i look like i have cried a lot ? "... now almost smiling !
Lady, i am the one who's lost a dollar here, if anyone it's me who should be crying ! One more dollar loss for me and i might as well join you and go around telling people that i got robbed !
Me : "No, i don't think so"...i answered meekly, shaking my head like i was struck by a gong.
it was 12:45pm by then, and without looking back i hurried towards the bus stop again !
I will never know if she was lying or indeed needed the money...
....and so stays the one dollar dilemma !
posted by Jagadish at 6:50 AM
13 Comments:
Good one, but I feel, you should have listen to your heart and helped that lady by lending at least one more dollar.
Never mind...
Jaggi,
Next time you find a girl in 20's, give her all the money she wants :p ;)
suneel: why would my heart ask me to lend her one more dollar ? as in why just one more dollar ? :D..it's not like you always lend in even numbers or something :D
Chandu: :D...no, no the next time a girl in her 20s says "you seem like a good man" out of nowhere, i'll know she is trying to fleece me :D
jaggi.. based on your reply to chandru, I doubt if you would ever agree on marrying a girl.. or wait till she is in 30s :P
hehehe, marriage and money are two different things :). what i meant from my comment was that i'll try not to be gullible :D.
by the way, marriage before 26 is on the cards mama :)..waiting until 30 would be a disaster :D...forgot that discussion already ? ;)
Even numbers !!!HAHAHAHA
/Kiran
Jaggi,
Yavogo Madhuve.. :p
& didn't you give her your address :)
kiran: :D :D...may be suneel should explain what he had in his mind though :D...
chandu: maduvege inna time idio, 26 is far away yet...hudgi yaaru sikkilla inna :D, so no question of giving my address.
nann magne juggi... yesht jana hudgiru innu bekappa nin mukhakke? list kodla???
konege gori nu bidlu... if u dont use these chances, ninna moosakke nai kooda baralla :D
(I dont know why i am shouting like this!!)
manu: bepp thakadi, nin first comment delete maadide, yappa yen control ee illa hung bydbittidia !
Lo it was a case of damsel in distress, and moreover i was under stress to reach office too :)...
ohohoho, nin flops thegila butti inda ? ..hogolo ! ;)
If you read it properly, I mentioned "at least one more dollar". This statement was for you, as you were in dilemma for one dollar.
Rest is up to you, whatever you want to derive from this.
No more comments.
Ah.. as the old saying goes.."never trust a woman" ( no matter how old she is..) :P
Hey, now.. u aint havin some grudge against in women in 20's do u? (i just turned 20 recently) Wow.. next time i come to ur city, im comin with a tear gas and u better be ther wit a bigger wallet ready for me!hehe!
(psst..anyday, i wud prefer the teddybear though... only if ur willin to spare wit it!)
-divster
divster: ;)...no grudge, but only caution :D...
...and belated Happy birthday wishes to you :) !
tear gas ?? hmmm...nice idea :D...drastic, but nice :D...
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