What Goes Around...

Now before I jump into the story there is a disclaimer. Typically I wouldn't share this with anyone but what happened to me as a result of my act was so powerful - I feel compelled to share. So I have been having some challenges concerning my current 9-5 and have been working diligently to change my situation...I have reached out to everyone I know, informing them of my circumstances and making it clear that I want a change. Unfortunately, In these times (as you may or may not know), one can not expect to jump into a new opportunity without knowing someone on the "inside" - being new to Florida and having a tiny network - this has been my biggest challenge. I have done all I can to date and am now patiently waiting....

This is where my story starts...

After another tiring day of work I left the office around 6:45 pm. On getting to the parking lot I noticed an elderly  couple walking towards me. When I say elderly - I mean easily in their 80s close to 90. At first I thought they were going to jump me based on the fact that I was the only one in the parking lot and how "quickly" they were approaching. I thought to myself wow - this is gonna be interesting....The lady - who had 3 bags in her hand - had obviously been shopping all day - she had white hair, was about 5'2", BIG GLASSES, and a bit of a hunch which caused her to lean forward. She spoke first - "Excuse me! - Do you know of any car services around here?" "No I don't - I do know however the number to a taxi service, would you like me to call for you?" "No, I don't want a Taxi, I want a car service - you know what - Is that a hospital over there?" "Yes it is - That's West Boca Medical - They would be sure to have access to a car service..."

There was a brief pause - by then her husband had caught up to her and joined the "exchange" - She started to cry - she says "I am so embarrassed, we are snow birds (fly from the North to seek refuge in warmer climate during the Winter season) who just came down here from Long Island. This is our first day and a bus was supposed to come pick us up right across the street and it just never came. We don't know where we are and we don't know what to do." At this time her husband steps in - seemingly soft spoken - he stood about 5'3",  white hair - very frail and he had a very concerned look in his face. The reason he took so long to get to where we stood was because he was pulling hand luggage because they must have known they were going to be buying a TONNE of stuff at the shops that day. "How far is the hospital from here?" he asked "You can actually see it from here, it's right down the street...." There was a pause - the obviously upset wife started crying again and began to go on and on about never taking the 91 bus again and that they were exactly where they were supposed to be at the designated time "WHY WOULD THEY LEAVE US?!" she exclaimed. "Lady I have no idea..." I said.

At that point - her husband put his arms around her and said "it's not far dear we can make it...." I couldn't take it any more - "Where do you guys live?" "We are staying at this place called Century Village a complex that houses 55+" she said. "How far is it from here?" I asked, She said "the bus took about 20 mins..." In my mind I'm like GREAT! After a rough day and wanting to go home - I am now stuck with a pair of elderly people that live 20 minutes further away from my home. AWESOME! "Do you know the exact address for Century Village?" "No we only know that it is off Lyons Road." I then pulled out my phone and did a search for Century Village, Lyons road - got the address. "NOW ARE YOU SURE THIS IS THE PLACE YOU LIVE?" "Yes we live off Lyons Road." "Get in the car," I said - her immediate response was "Can we trust you? Can I see some ID? Are you going to kill us? Are you sure there isn't a car service?" - She was noticeably uncomfortable and nervous - meanwhile hubby was already eager to get into the car. I said "Look lady - you see me coming out of an office, you approach me going to my car, you tell me your problem and I am now offering to help you - if you want to call a car service go right ahead - the hospital is right across the street, I am only trying to help." "But are you going to kill us?" she said in a serious tone - I responded "I have already met my quota for killing elderly people who are having trouble getting back to Century Village for the week..." they laughed.

I helped them with their bags and hand luggage and put them in the trunk of my car. They were both heading to the back seat like I was supposed to be some kind of chauffeur or something for them - I'm like wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, - "I'm not a cab driver - someone rides up front with me - who is going to give me directions once we start getting closer?" is how I framed it.....They quietly conversed for a second to decide who would ride up front - It was the husband who lost the coin toss..."I will ride up front with you" he said reluctantly....In my mind I'm thinking - what have I gotten myself into.....

Everyone is now seated and has been helped to buckle up - I put the address into my GPS and it came back with the directions and that the destination was 17.3 miles away - I looked up to the sky and asked - "What have I done to deserve this Lord?" I began to back out of my parking space ready to take on the ride and my GPS recalculated my position and told me the destination was only 3.2 miles away....The GPS satellite hadn't picked up my current location - it was telling me how far I would have been from the destination I put in last....It was as if God was testing to see if I would have still carried them knowing that it was further away from where I originally thought....

Anyway I was very grateful that it was only a 3 mile trip in the opposite direction of my home and not 17 miles away. As soon as we pulled out of the spot and began our journey the wife started talking about all her ailments - I heard about her pancreas, back, shoulders, toes, bones and about specific bodily functions that weren't operating the way they should (I will spare you the details) - All the while the husband is extremely quiet trying to see if he recognizes any of the sights so he knows he is on the right path home. We are now about half way there based on my GPS and now the wife's phone starts ringing "Hello...... I'm too embarrassed to tell you what's going on.......we were left on the side of the street......I'm too embarrassed to tell you more....." she says and then she hangs up the phone - "That was my daughter - she is worried but I am too embarrassed to let her know what is going on" - She starts to cry hysterically and says "I have never done this before - why did the bus leave us? - I will never take that bus again........" I said to her "How many kids do you have?" "She said "2 girls" - "What do they do for a living?" - she told me - I just can't remember what she said - my tactic was just to get her more comfortable and STOP CRYING! "I then asked her "why are you crying? She said "because we were stranded and didn't know how we were getting home." I said "But you don't have either of those problems now do you?" There was silence - then she says "You are right I will calm down." Also I said, "You may want to let your daughter know that you are OK - because based on that conversation earlier - she is probably going crazy - it's not helping that she has tried to call you back 4 times and you aren't answering the phone......would you do that for me please? Just as a favor - She did. 


We get to the gate of the now infamous Century Village - gated community with tight security as you can well  imagine here in south Florida. Can I have your I.D.? I turned to the passenger seat to see if the husband would chime in at any time -  he checked his pockets, checked his jacket, checked all over (this took about 6 minutes) it was like watching a turtle "run" towards a beach 4 miles away - ROUGH! The security guard was quite understanding though she seemed to deal with this kind of situation on a regular basis - ALSO ROUGH! Meanwhile the wife in the back - "Where's your ID? I thought you had your ID? Did you lose your ID? Did you check your top pocket for your ID? .......................and after he confirmed he has indeed lost his ID - The wife brandishes hers.WOW!

Anyway, we were able to furnish the ID, the gates open and we are off to find their apartment. "Wait, Wait, Wait!" Wife exclaims - "What's wrong?" I asked - Drop us off here - we have already taken too much of your time and away from your dinner - just drop us here and we will take a shuttle bus in to our apartment" she said....."So let me get this straight, you have a car and a driver but choose to wait on a shuttle bus to take you to your apartment? You do realize you have shopping bags and hand luggage in my trunk right? Would you prefer to carry them around until the bus came? I asked. She said "No" - Well alright then we are off.....

Now for those of you who don't know, I discovered that Century Village off Lyons Road is one of the LARGEST 55+ communities in Florida! THIS PLACE WAS HUGE!!!! A CITY WITHIN A CITY TYPE HUGE! After driving another few miles and asking various bus drivers and random folks on the campus how to get to their apartment - we finally found it! Suddenly, the wife starts to cry AGAIN - but this time it's tears of joy - "thank you so much, we have never done anything like this before, thanks for not killing us, let me give you some money,  would you like to come in for dinner?" she asked - "Lady, lady lady....I'm fine - save your money and your dinner - maybe some other time." I said "Aren't you even going to tell me your name?" she asked - I said "Nope, I don't want you to know my name and then send someone to kill me." They laughed. I drove off and was now on my way home.

Now, almost 8:00 pm and a few minutes into my drive - I get a call from one of the Human Resources Managers that I had been trying to get a hold of forever - she calls me from her cell phone and apologized it took so long for her to get in touch with me and that she will be working on helping me find another opportunity as best she could....and before she could finish her sentence ANOTHER HR Manager called me from another company and also apologizes for not being in better touch with me - After trying to get in touch with these people for MONTHS - they BOTH CALL ME AT THE SAME TIME? I looked up to the sky while speaking to one HR manager and having the other on hold and said - Thank you Lord!

I am now scheduled for interviews next month - wish me luck....