Who Would You Call? December 30, 2007
Posted by TimTheFoolMan in Cars, Communication, Driving, Family, Friends, Love, Security.trackback
Besides Ghostbusters.
Here’s the scenario:
You’re stranded on a busy expressway late at night, your family in the car with you. The outside temperature is in the low 20’s. You’re in an old car, long since paid for, but sadly, not covered by towing insurance. In fact, it’s not clear how far you might be to a towing service, or how far it might be for them to tow you to civilization, much less your home.
You get out your cell phone and try to decide who to call at such a late hour. You look through your phone’s contact list. Name after name scrolls by. Who would you call if you need to be rescued in such a situation?
I am asking this hypothetically, but I’m curious about the real answer for any of us. Who do we call, and why do we call them instead of someone else?
A Fool and his Words are Soon Parted 
hypothetically, of course i would probably call my best friend, as i had to do recently! i would have called my parents but they didn’t know how lost i really was and i had my two little ones in the car. it was a nightmare!
parents got half the story, but gave me a gps system so i will never be lost again!!
hallie
Hallie,
I can most certainly sympathize. What I left out above is that this actually happened, and I ended up calling my younger sister, who drove way out of her way to rescue us, and then again to take us home.
I’m glad you made it safely home with your little ones, and yes, GPS is a wonderful thing. 😀 – Tim
1. The male answer.
I read the scenario to Doug, and he said, “I’d call AAA.” I said, “The situation assumes we don’t have AAA.”
“But we’ve always had AAA, ever since we got our first car. That’s who I’d call.”
“Not in this case; you have to call someone in your cell phone.”
“Then I’d call you.”
“I’m with you in the car.”
His final answer: “I don’t accept the premise.” 😀
2. The female answer.
It would depend what part of the area we’re in. Indiana: church friends Carol and Jo Ann. East Louisville: you. South/West Louisville: church friends Rick and Holly. These are people I know well, whom I have relied on in the past and know I can rely on in the future; people I know wouldn’t ask any questions other than directions to the car; people who are real friends. I hope any of them would feel free to call on me in a similar situation.
Hmm, I’d call AAA first. I pay for it, so I might as well use it. 🙂
Imagine this scenario:
You’re at the end of your line. You can’t take life another minute. So you grab the bottles of sleeping pills and start popping them in your mouth. Who do you call to come rescue you from your confused state?
I called my best friend, who said, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I’m on my way to a party with my family.” So I called my Mom, who said, “Damn it, Laura!” I finally called my sister-in-law in California (I live in Kentucky), who began frantically calling other family members to drive over and get me. Fortunately, my Mom came to her senses, drove over, and took me to the hospital.
Who is *really* there for you when you need them? I definitely need to rethink who those people are for me.
Tiffany,
Doug’s answer reminds me of Captain Kirk’s response to the “no-win scenario” in “The Wrath of Kahn.” I’m thinking that he may have convinced me to invest in AAA.
Rose,
That settles it. Bartender… AAA all around!
Laura,
Wow. That certainly puts things in perspective. I’m glad your Mom “came to her senses.”
Laura, she doesn’t qualify to be your best friend. Actually, I’m having trouble stretching the definition of “friend” in any sense to cover someone who would respond that way under those conditions. Thank goodness for your sister-in-law — and your mom. All my best to you in the new year!
And entirely off topic, Tim, I LOVE the snow falling through the blog window and piling up at the bottom of the screen. Too cool! 🙂
Pastor of course =o)
Oh and Premium AAA is the ONLY way to go.
I guess that it is not so important which person we call, Tim; but that we have someone to call. And maybe we call different people for different needs – one friend of mine would love the task you describe (straight forward, clear outcome) but would die if asked to resolve an emotional dilemma. Then I’d have to call someone else…
Gentiana,
You’re more than welcome. When I thought about this issue, I experienced a rush of emotions just like what you’ve described.
Oscarandre,
I think that’s definitely true, and part of my fascination was why I would call one person for one situation, and someone else for another. Obviously, I wouldn’t call my brother in Pittsburgh to address this need, where he might be the first person I would call to discuss a parenting issue with my college-age son (his sons are all older than my oldest, where my sisters’ sons are younger).
Even if Mom or Dad were still alive, I probably wouldn’t have called them, since putting them out in the bad weather would be creating a risk for them as great or greater than to me and my immediate family. At the same time, Mom would have been my first call to discuss a marriage/relationship issue, and Dad would have been the first call for some kind of spiritual or “meaning of life” question.
For some questions though (as you point out), the list narrows down rather quickly. Hearkening back to Laura’s comment, there are some situations where I certainly don’t want to hear “I’m sorry… I’m too busy.” – Tim