Don't Burden Me With Your Problems

I get really irritated when people I do not know feel the need to share their personal issues and problems with me as if their concerns should affect me. I have two examples that happened within an hour of each other. UNEXCUSABLE, PEOPLE, UNEXCUSABLE!

I received a text today from a number I did not recognize, from someone I do not even know. It read:

"Hi Bess :) im friends with ada and i know this is a bit odd since we havent net (Mystery obviously meant 'met'; Spell check; Hello!) but im trying to find a car to borrow for sunday. If youd be willing id be more"

And it abruptly ends there. This person didn't even have the common courtesy to tell me her name! Everyone needs to know: I am not in the business of giving free handouts! I don't even give money to the homeless (on principal, but that's a separate issue. I do, on the other hand, believe in organized philanthropy). Why does this person assume that I have sympathy for her for not having a car? If this person needs to go somewhere, she can call a cab like anyone else if she's too lazy to walk or if the destination is a great distance away. Don't ask me to take up your plight because, unless you've proven to me that you're not a needy leech, I have no patience for it.

I am also planning a talk with ada about giving my phone number out to strangers.

The other incident today happened while I was downtown this afternoon:

(A little background information first: I have a makeshift parking pass for a private parking lot downtown. I have permission from the owner of the lot to park there. He knows who I am and my car, and so do the towmen who patrol the lot.)

Well today I walked outside to make sure that my car was still there because Owner has hired some new towmen. While I said hello and introduced myself to Towman, I could not help but to notice that he was already pulling some woman’s car. She was standing there on her phone yabbering at some poor person, probably a city dispatcher. All of the sudden she decides to interrupt my conversation with Towman to tell me all about how she was in the gallery next door and she came out and her car was being towed and how this guy was such a jerk because he wouldn’t give her car back without her paying. Blah, Blah, Blah.

Well, I just turned to the woman and said, “I don’t really care.” I wasn't ugly about it, just indifferent. Oh, boy. Didn’t she just let me have it. This stupid woman proceeds to shower me with every expletive and insult in the book, including calling me a bitch, which, I imagine, would have been an insult if I didn’t agree with her.

I told Towman thank you and headed back inside with a noticeable spring in my step. A little uncalled for, but she was rude and it wasn’t my car being towed. As I was leaving a few minutes later, the cops had arrived and were taking care of the ongoing dispute. Poor fellas; I hate that they had to deal with that nasty woman.

I did have sympathy for the woman, at first. It sucks to have your car towed and then to have to pay some exorbitant amount to get it back. It’s a huge inconvenience. But when the woman decided to interrupt me, share her problem, and then insult me because her issue wasn’t my issue, I stopped caring. Why did she feel like giving me a “play-by-play?” I wasn’t going to be able to get her car back. Did she think I was going to gang up against Towman with her? I certainly didn’t want to give him any reasons to tow my car. Plus, I had no problems with him. What did she really expect after she wasted my time?

In conclusion, and Mo knows this, I have enough problems of my own to deal with, so don’t burden me with yours. If I really want to know, I'll be sure and ask first.