A Rather Strange Encounter
Ran into a rather odd situation while working yesterday. I was up on Pine Hill in Eureka mowing a lawn on the corner of Union and Madison.
I didn't notice when it pulled over but a blue Volkswagon pulled to the side of the road on Union Street, right next to the house I was working at. It looked like whoever it was just pulled over temporarily as the rear wheels were out into the street quite a bit. I could see someone in the driver's seat's head bobbing up and down as if they were trying to adjust something- as best I could guess.
So I'm hoping it isn't some medical emergency and hoping they'll pull out and drive off since they're in the way of where I'd be mowing next. The car doesn't leave and I have no choice but to mow next to the car.
I'm passing by the car and see some old lady in it. As I turn to go back the other way she motions at me to come to her and then steps out of the car as I approach her. She asks, "Can you help me? I can't get this car to move".
I look inside and see she appears to have the automatic transmission shift lever in the Park position. I slide inside the car to make sure and push the release button on the lever to make sure it moves. Yes, it does. I tell her she has the car in Park and she needs to press on the button and move the lever to where the D is on the shift panel to put it in Drive.
She says something like, "I tried that but it wouldn't move". I have her get back in the car and talk her through it reminding her to but her foot on the brake while shifting the gear. Finally she says, "Oh, there it goes. Maybe I needed my foot on the brake to move the shift lever?". I told her I didn't think so but whatever works.
Off she goes as I wish her good luck, hoping she gets far enough away so I won't be involved if she gets in a wreck.
I'm wondering, if she couldn't figure out how to change gears in that car by herself, how did she get to where she was in the first place?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:45 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
She sounds like the lady whose car I helped park at Bayshore Mall. She had quite a bit of trouble angling the car into the slot before she got out and asked for my help.
I had a slight back and forth with an older lady at the Henderson Center Rite- Aid a few years ago.
I pulled my truck into the space next to her car to park and get out to go into the store. She's going to leave and says to me out her window, "How am I going to be able to back out of here?.
For crying out loud, there was PLENTY of room for her to back up. Anybody should of been able to back out from where she was. I just told her there was plenty of room and she should have no problem with it and went my own way thinking to myself is she couldn't handle that simple task, she shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car.
I had a slightly stressful encounter in a parking lot when a woman rushed up and claimed I dinged her door when I opened my door. She seemed not quite 'there' mentally, and was still insistent when I opened my door to its full capacity to demonstrate that even then our two cars couldn't physically have touched. At that point I noticed every inch of her car, save the driver's seat, was packed floor to ceiling with garbage.
How about this one:
I'm coming out of what was then, Long's Drugs, at the Eureka Mall. I'm parked next to a compact black sedan with some old lady in it.
As I'm walking behind her car to get to mine I'm maybe a foot away from the rear of her car. All of the sudden her car backs up, hits me, and stops.
I back off and glare at the lady sitting in the car. She just sits there. I get into my truck and get ready to leave.
She seems to drive off, then turns around and comes back and parks in the same spot. She gets out of her car, goes around to the rear and bends down to look at her car, taking a look at me while she's doing it. I'm guessing she thinks I hit her car with something? She sees no damage and drives off.
Not sure what that was about. How could she not know she backed up into me?
How did she get there indeed? Car doesn't move when in park. I believe you have to step on brake in order to shift out of park as I have a car that won't shift unless you brake. Probably so you won't drive through your house. That little old lady probably should not be driving at all since she does not seem to remember at times how to get out of park or even how she got into park. Family should take the keys.
Yep, she had to have been able to get it going to get there in the first place.
I wasn't sure if she had to have her foot on the brake to shift from Park, but I did tell her it would probably be a good idea to, anyway.
I thought at first maybe she had a stroke or something, but she seemed fine and alert.
"...if she couldn't figure out how to change gears in that car by herself, how did she get to where she was in the first place?"
Dont ask. Just. Dont.
Did you hear the one about the lovers up on lover's peak who found a hook on their car door after they drove back home?
No? It's a good story!
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