Friday, November 21, 2008

what would you do?

This is a true story.

A young woman was working alone at a small town convenience store. A man came in with a broken arm and both hands bandaged and headed to the restroom. After a few munutes, the woman heard, "Ma'am? Ma'am?" She walked back to the restroom, knocked on the door, and asked the man if he was ok.

"Yes, but -- this is very embarrassing -- I can't get my pants up."

The woman wasn't sure if he was some kind of pervert, but, at the same time, felt a little sorry for him. "Well, what do you want ME to do?"

"Could you help me?"

The woman looked back at the front of the store, wondering what to do and worrying if a customer would come in and see her in the restroom if she dared to help the man.

She slowly opened the door and peeked in. The man was standing there, underwear up (thank God!), with his pants down around his ankles. "Could you help me?" He pleaded.

The woman stepped over to him, pulled up his pants, fastened them and his belt. And he was on his way.

Did she do the right thing? What would you have done?

9 comments:

Bijoux said...

I'm not very trusting, so I would not have helped....I mean, how'd he get his pants down in the first place?

Desmond Jones said...

The first thing that occurred to my mind was that this was a pretty dangerous situation. I could easily imagine the guy using his 'disability' as a ruse to lure her into the bathroom, and then, he's got her in a secluded room, out of sight, and pretty much out of hearing, too. . .

But then, there's the 'other hand', and he just needed the kindness of a stranger to help him in a humiliating predicament. . .

I suppose the fact that his underwear were in place lowers the 'perv alert' level from red to orange, but if it were my daughter, I'd want her to think long and hard about what alternatives she had, before she just went ahead and did what he asked. . .

for a different kind of girl said...

I, too, am probably far too trusting for my own good. That situation, really, could have morphed into something quite heinous, the bandages and arm cast just a really well thought out ruse.

So, heavens...I probably would have been inclined to help. At the very least, I'd have tried to talk him through his options before going in and actually helping him pull them up.

I should rethink my stance sometimes. I really thought this would be a story ending with the woman in a pile on the floor.

Trueself said...

I would have been cautious. I would've told him that I would ask the very next man that came in to come help him. If that was likely to take too long (a time of day when things are usually very slow) I would've tried calling male friends until I found one who could come help out.

So Gone Over You said...

Ehhh, I'm not sure I would've helped. He was able to get his pants down and his underwear up, but then can't get his pants up - sounds fishy to me.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, if he could get his grundies up he could have at least held the pants up and asked for help fastening 'em. Seems pretty fishy, potentially dangerous, certainly creepy.

Find another male passer-by and drag him in to do the job instead.

Therese in Heaven said...

I would've probably asked him if I could call anyone to help him or wait for the next guy to walk in.

Phyllis Renée said...

Thanks for the feedback. This story was told to me this morning by the woman's step-dad. She had called her Mom, after the fact, quite shaken by the whole thing and wondering if she had done the right thing. I asked him if it was ok if I posted it on my blog. He was anxious to hear what others thought.

FTN said...

I've actually seen this on an episode of "Jackass." Johnny Knoxville has two arms up in casts, and he tells people he REALLY has to pee, and he asks them if they'll pull his fly down for him.

And then back up afterwards.

So, you know, maybe your friend will be on TV. Did she sign a consent form after she did it?