Weird times.

A few weeks ago I was driving down 71 and I saw a man standing next to a stranded vehicle, thumb out, trying to get a ride. It was cold, probably in the single-digits, and dark. We were at least two miles form the next exit. He was clean, standing in the light from his headlights. I was getting off at the next exit, anyway.

So I pulled over to give him a ride.

I pulled off maybe 30 feet from his car, I could still make out the relief of his figure as I turned on the interior light, and cleaned out the passenger side seat. I looked back again, he didn't seem to be getting closer, but maybe he was just old and slow. I turned down the radio and looked back again. By now traffic was heavy, and I couldn't find a break to merge into for a minute. I waited a song, two songs, three songs before I could pull off.

I guess I left him there, unless he vanished, like one of those highway ghost stories.

I wonder why he didn't take the ride.