A funny thing happened on the way to...

Well, some funny things happen in life. I've decided to write about a couple of these things. In the first story, the names have been withheld because that's what one does when posting stories about other people, or something.

A funny thing happened on the way to the SPCA
This is a true story as told to us by a friend of ours. She has a sister who went to college in Manhattan and that's where the story begins. She was asked to dog-sit for a family while they went out of town to Florida. During the course of her dog-sitting stint, the dog passed away. The girl was mortified (fitting) and she called the owners of the dog in a slight panic. They told her it was OK and that they had been expecting the dog to pass away at any time. However, they also told her that she needed to take care of the situation, meaning that she needed to dispose of the dog in an appropriate manner. She hung up the phone and was overcome by a total lack of what one should do with a deceased canine in Manhattan. It wasn't like she could bury the dog in Central Park or put it out with the trash, so she called the SPCA. The SPCA said they could help her, but she needed to get the dog to them. Hmm. Problem. She was a student and she didn't have a car. Her only means of transportation was the subway. Yep, the subway. So, with this as her option, she began looking around the apartment for a way to inconspicuously transport the dog while on public transit. After searching for a bit she found a suitcase, and not just any suitcase, a Burberry. Perfect. She then put the dog in the Burberry and proceeded to the subway station. The dog, it should be mentioned, wasn't too big, but there's a lot of walking to do when you are in Manhattan and I imagine the suitcase was getting heavy. Anyway, she 'clunked' her way down the subway stairs and onto the train. The actual train ride went without incident, but when the girl went to get off the subway, the suitcase became stuck in the doors. She began to pull, and she kept pulling, and still more pulling, but she couldn't dislodge the dog/suitcase from the subway doors. When it seemed all hope was lost, a man that had been standing on the platform approached her and asked if she would like some help. She gratefully accepted and he was able to get the suitcase out of the subway doors. Once all 3 were on the platform, the man asked if she would like help getting the suitcase up the stairs. She agreed gratefully and followed him up to the ground level. When they got to the street, the man gave her a quick glance and took off running with the suitcase. She protested for a moment, but then realized that all of her troubles were solved. The family was unhappy to lose the Burberry, but probably nothing in comparison to how the thief felt.

A funny thing happened on the way to the parking lot
This story is a bit more personal, in that it happened to me. Last night. Jon and I had gone to the grocery store and we did our shopping, paid for our groceries, and headed for the exit. In the place that I don't know the name of where all the shopping carts are kept, there was a woman struggling to get a shopping cart free. I'm the type of person that likes to help, so in a loud voice (much louder than I intended), I shouted "Ma'am". This exchange doesn't seem to harmless and I had her attention. I called out to her with the intention of giving her our shopping cart. The problem was that we didn't have a shopping cart. Hmm. Just as I shouted "Ma'am", this realization came to me, but it was too late to pretend I wasn't talking to her. So, with a feeling of impending doom, and as one who has embarrassed herself in public on many occasions, I did the only thing I could do-I asked if she needed help getting a cart free. She turned and thanked me for offering and muttered something about how men and store employees had walked by without offering and she said that I was very kind. I suppose that's partly true, but my offer to help was just a cover-up for my obvious lack of shopping cart. Not that I wasn't trying to help, but the 'save' was much nicer than my first intent. So, with that, when you shout to someone and offer them your shopping cart, make sure you actually have one.

THE END