Strange

Hey All (its Justin...we've been asked to identify who's writing)-

So in my attempts to convince Liz moving South would be a good idea (which it would be!) I usually roll through the usual pros and cons of the North and South. The South is friendlier, cheaper, newer, better weather but is also more commercialized- everything is a chain-, not as aesthetic/quaint as New England, and there's a lot of sprawl...no good public transportation and no walking. The North is expensive, old, unfriendly, COLD but it also historic/quaint, lots of jobs, typically easy to get around and its where we've called home for a combined 33 years. I could go on but I'll leave it to these basic stereotypes.

This past weekend is finally making me start to question the kindness aspect of my argument. Being in Boston has added a little burliness to my personality but unprovoked I usually still say hi to strangers, wave to passing bikers, and offer help to those that look like they need it.

In my post a couple of weeks ago, I unfortunately ate some asphalt while down in Atlanta and despite biking on a busy sidewalk and next to a busy road, no one offered helped or stopped to see if I'd get up. Not sure what I expected but I was expecting something...

This past weekend, Liz and I were all set to do a 4 hour, approximate 60 mile ride through the Mass towns of Concord, Weston, and Lincoln...for those that don't know Mass well these towns are known to be very snobby and upscale. Great places to bike because the scenery is beautiful and the drivers are scared to get their BMWs too close to your bike (somewhat similiar to Ridgefield). Around mile 40 Liz got her second flat of the day and that was enough to deplete our repair supplies. She was able to hobble another 4 miles to Main Street Concord but it was still 16 miles from our car (it was now 7:30, pitch dark, and dropping into the low 30's).

As we're trying to figure out the best way to get back to our car with the bikes, an older gentleman came by and started talking to us. After some brainstorming the man came straight out and offered the keys to his car while he ate dinner down the road. For the record, I TRUST NO ONE...this was weird. Didn't help that his name is definitely a male porn star name (since he was nice and I found it was his real name, I'll leave it out of the post). After much convincing, Liz and I went to the car expecting a POS but instead were treated to a Lexus SUV.

The entire ride to our car Liz and I were waiting for the police to show up and arrest us for grand theft auto or something. To our surprise, we got to our car unaccosted and eventually returned his keys while him and his wife were having drinks at the restaurant. He wouldn't accept anything besides thanks and a promise to pass along the favor to someone else (very "Pay It Forward" though I'd still never loan my car to a stranger).

When we got home, I got a little "stalkerish" and googled his name (also knew where he worked from our conversation). To my surprise, I was able to find a lot on him...apparently he's quite the philanthropist (works with the homeless), policital (lots of donations), and well off (a SVP at a major investment firm)- WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS GUY WOULD BE NICE, MAYBE EVEN TOO TRUSTING!

So until I walk out the door today and bump into the usual A'hole, I'll have to admit some yankees aren't so bad...