Had an exciting moment after work tonight. Heavy storm blew through, got out in the middle of it, stopped at Walgreens to get a gallon of milk, saw a couple (probably around age 30 or so) arguing in the parking lot. She looked at my car, and he grabbed her in a bear hug. At first I thought "aw, is that sweet?" then I realized her arms were at her sides. When he let go they were facing each other, he shoved her, HARD, pushed her backwards. They were yelling at each other, and she had that look of desperation on her face. When he shoved her a second time, harder than the first, I jumped out of my car and hollered, "HEY!!!" It got his attention, and then he was heading my way. Normally that would have scared me, but he was really scrawny, not much taller than me, maybe he was 5'6", and he was crying. As he came toward me, I got out and locked my car. I was only about 30' from the entrance to the store, and another person pulled in next to me. He cried, "Can you help me?" I asked him what was wrong. He said "I need your help (wawawawa) ... " I think he was drugged out, or out of sorts from something else, but he was not making much sense. I told him shoving people does NOT help matters, and why did he do that? He said she shoved him first, then showed me scrapes on his knees. (Poor baby ... NOT!) She was about his height, probably outweighed him by 20# or so, but was not a large person at all. I noticed she was hiking it away fast, so I walked toward the store, and he followed. I figured inside was safer, and he was still crying and talking. He said something about just needing to get a motel, that they had been traveling all night, so maybe they had money problems, or maybe she was leaving him, and he was not having that at all! Well, buddy, you are in EFfingham, and we take care of EVERYONE in Effingham! So, I said, "Why would you shove her around? If you were driving all night, you need to get some rest and rethink your attitude in the morning." He didn't keep following me to the back of the store where the milk was, and then I noticed the associates gathering by the photo booth. They were on the phone to the police. Turns out the woman must have called the police, too, as a cruiser when whizzing by lights and sirens blaring. The guy came back inside, paid for his stuff (which included a pair of hot pink flip flops ... big spender for the lady, huh? probably $1.99 pair!) and went back out into the now downpour of rain. I paid for my things after I saw that the lady was not around, and then when I got outside, 2 city cops were there. Seems we should have watched him to see where he went .... LOL
Anyhow, this is something I thought of on my way home: What if their fight was just a ploy, to get some nice person like me to step away from my car so they could steal it, or worse, knock me down, take my purse, and steal my car! I would have let that lady into my car in a minute, not knowing who she was, but she went the other direction when the guy headed toward me. So, be nice to strangers, but be CAREFUL! Nothing happened, I was happy I had diverted the guy's attention to let her get away. I just hope she stays away from him and does not allow abuse to continue in her life. In Effingham, if she asked, she would have been set up for the night and probably helped to get a bus ticket home, so I hope that she was smart enough to do what was needed to get away for good!
