Doppelgänger
09-25-2009, 08:55 AM
Had one of those moments last night...you know, where after an event you start thinking about all the variable and the timing that put you somewhere at a certain time....kinda long story, but it's worth it.
I had gone up to the Sonicricefest for a couple of laughts and talked to a few old friends up there and whatnot. I didn't really pay attention to the time and ended up leaving a little later than I wanted. Well, I'm almost at Spaghetti Junction when I notice my phone has missed calls and right then Jenn calls me. I tell where I am and that i'll be home soon and that my phone was about to die...then hang up. Right after I put the phone down and get ready to merge onto the exit to 285, something caught my eye..a nice car. So I dart back over to carry on 85 sough to go investigate. Turns out to be a Panoz GT-LM (coupe..not convertable..pretty rare car). Nice. By this time I decide to take the Peachtree St. exit to turn around and get back on 85 north rather than taking my usual route through Buckhead..I wanted to get home. Well I get off 85 and onto the Buford Hwy/P'tree St. access road and decided to have a little fun with the throttle since no one was around. After I pass the exit that goes back to 85 south, I slow it down and prepare to take the P'tree St. north exit, I get over and am now going just under the speed limit when I notice something strange about the exit...there is light somewhere it shouldn't be. With that, I come upon a vehicle driving the wrong way about 200yds before the exits (for me) ends.
Immidately I started flashing my high-beams and swerving the car to catch this guys attention so he doesn't hit me. It works and now i'm about to blow up on some drunk as I pull up to the driver's side window. Well, I didn't find a drunk, rather, I found a 900 year old man (OK, maybe not 900, but he wasn't a spring chicken by any means, i'd guess 80-90 years old easily). The man is visable shaken and starts asking me where he is to which I reply that he is on a one-way exit ramp and that he needs to turn around ASAP. Mind you I am the one now in middle of the exit, stopped with my hazard lights on...luckily, which are really bright and hoping no one rear-ends me. The man driving the car is very confused and can't figure out how to turn the car around so I pull over, run back and offer to turn the car around for him...he agrees and gets out of the car. About this time I notice the walker that is in the back and prepare to help him to the passenger side so I could speed up the process of getting his car pointed in the right direction (black Lexus ES300 for any of you who are wondering). Once he is in, I jump in the drivers seat and carefully back the car up and back over the bridge we were one and turn it aroun on the shoulder, park the car and ask him where he is trying to go. "I was trying to get on the highway to go north. I just left the Hospital and am trying to get to [insert name of retirement home that I didn't catch here]". I didn't really know what he was talking about so I gave him directions to get back to 85 north....which only confused him. So I give him another option that seems easier for him to understand and help him back over to the driver's seat where I wish him a safe trip to his destination and get back in my car. Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to catch back up to him at the end of the exit ramp onto Peachtree northbound....where he simply decides he wants to make a rather illegal and dangerous u-turn to get to the 85 north onramp. Luckily the light for us was green and the intersection was clear. I hope he made it home safe.
Sorry for the long read, but it's a story, not to be described in a few sentences. Once I got home and called Jenn back (who was not happy it was almost 45min later, when I said I would be home in 5min to call her back), I started thinking how so many small factors played into the timing of me stopping that man when and where I did.
-If I hadn't hauled ass on the access road, I would have met thig guy when had made it much much further down the exit.
-If I hadn't slowed down on 85 because I though I saw a cop...
-If I had decided to just go home and take 285 like I told my GF I was doing.
-If I had left Sonic earlier because I didn't feel like having that last conversation
-If I didn't decided to randomly accelerate to 90mph on 85 south
So many little factors....
It's a situation that could have just about had only one very bad outcome, but didn't because someone took a few minutes out of their way to help a complete stranger.
I had gone up to the Sonicricefest for a couple of laughts and talked to a few old friends up there and whatnot. I didn't really pay attention to the time and ended up leaving a little later than I wanted. Well, I'm almost at Spaghetti Junction when I notice my phone has missed calls and right then Jenn calls me. I tell where I am and that i'll be home soon and that my phone was about to die...then hang up. Right after I put the phone down and get ready to merge onto the exit to 285, something caught my eye..a nice car. So I dart back over to carry on 85 sough to go investigate. Turns out to be a Panoz GT-LM (coupe..not convertable..pretty rare car). Nice. By this time I decide to take the Peachtree St. exit to turn around and get back on 85 north rather than taking my usual route through Buckhead..I wanted to get home. Well I get off 85 and onto the Buford Hwy/P'tree St. access road and decided to have a little fun with the throttle since no one was around. After I pass the exit that goes back to 85 south, I slow it down and prepare to take the P'tree St. north exit, I get over and am now going just under the speed limit when I notice something strange about the exit...there is light somewhere it shouldn't be. With that, I come upon a vehicle driving the wrong way about 200yds before the exits (for me) ends.
Immidately I started flashing my high-beams and swerving the car to catch this guys attention so he doesn't hit me. It works and now i'm about to blow up on some drunk as I pull up to the driver's side window. Well, I didn't find a drunk, rather, I found a 900 year old man (OK, maybe not 900, but he wasn't a spring chicken by any means, i'd guess 80-90 years old easily). The man is visable shaken and starts asking me where he is to which I reply that he is on a one-way exit ramp and that he needs to turn around ASAP. Mind you I am the one now in middle of the exit, stopped with my hazard lights on...luckily, which are really bright and hoping no one rear-ends me. The man driving the car is very confused and can't figure out how to turn the car around so I pull over, run back and offer to turn the car around for him...he agrees and gets out of the car. About this time I notice the walker that is in the back and prepare to help him to the passenger side so I could speed up the process of getting his car pointed in the right direction (black Lexus ES300 for any of you who are wondering). Once he is in, I jump in the drivers seat and carefully back the car up and back over the bridge we were one and turn it aroun on the shoulder, park the car and ask him where he is trying to go. "I was trying to get on the highway to go north. I just left the Hospital and am trying to get to [insert name of retirement home that I didn't catch here]". I didn't really know what he was talking about so I gave him directions to get back to 85 north....which only confused him. So I give him another option that seems easier for him to understand and help him back over to the driver's seat where I wish him a safe trip to his destination and get back in my car. Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to catch back up to him at the end of the exit ramp onto Peachtree northbound....where he simply decides he wants to make a rather illegal and dangerous u-turn to get to the 85 north onramp. Luckily the light for us was green and the intersection was clear. I hope he made it home safe.
Sorry for the long read, but it's a story, not to be described in a few sentences. Once I got home and called Jenn back (who was not happy it was almost 45min later, when I said I would be home in 5min to call her back), I started thinking how so many small factors played into the timing of me stopping that man when and where I did.
-If I hadn't hauled ass on the access road, I would have met thig guy when had made it much much further down the exit.
-If I hadn't slowed down on 85 because I though I saw a cop...
-If I had decided to just go home and take 285 like I told my GF I was doing.
-If I had left Sonic earlier because I didn't feel like having that last conversation
-If I didn't decided to randomly accelerate to 90mph on 85 south
So many little factors....
It's a situation that could have just about had only one very bad outcome, but didn't because someone took a few minutes out of their way to help a complete stranger.