Go Greyhound, Go Postal

I read a story recently that reminded me of my most recent attempt to do a good deed.....

I got into Nashville by way of Greyhound bus, put my duffel bag and suitcase in a locker and had taken a walk around the downtown area to stretch my legs, grab a bite to eat, etc. I came back to pick up my things, and ended up having a talk with an elderly lady. It was obvious after a couple of minutes of conversation that this woman was quite senile (at the very least - I'm sure she must have had Alzheimer's or something...) and was very confused about things. She first mentioned that this was her first and only trip to Nasvhille, then would say things like, "That kid is crying every time I come here." When I stated that I doubted it was the same child, she insisted it was. She thought every man in the building was staring at her, either in a perverse manner or sizing up how much money she may have on her person. She then went on to describe how she was afraid to go home (Evensville, IN) because some real estate agent was trying A) to force her to sleep with her and/or B) to force her to sell her home.

Anyway, she ends up asking me if I'd escort her home - and since I'm a rather nice guy (and had nothing planned for that particular day) I agreed. I told her I really couldn't afford to pay for a round-trip ticket (I'm nice, but I'm also sometimes equally as broke...) - she for some reason insisted I had told her I was a very wealthy man (like most people who travel by bus, I guess, lol) and didn't understand why I couldn't afford to buy my own ticket to ride all the way to Evansville, for her sake, and then back. She went to purchase my ticket, and at the last second changed her mind. Long story a little shorter, I stayed and talked with her until about 15 minutes before her bus was to leave. I was worried about her as I left the station, but figured she'd be alright.....

Fast forward two days, and I'm back at the station to head back to the town I'd just moved from. You see, walking from the bus station back to my old neighborhood, I'd been robbed/mugged by two courteous, although brutish thugs (hee,hee) and relieved of all my cash and earthly posessions, and things weren't looking too bright for me (other than the stars I was seeing after the clunk on the head) after that so I had a family member send me money for a bus ticket. So, I walk into the bus station, and guess who's sitting there? Yep, that same lady... I went and bought my ticket, then headed for the little diner/cafe thingy, thinking I'd go see what happened to her after I ate (forgive me, but I had enough of my own problems to worry about at this point). As I'm walking towards the cafe, I kept hearing some man calling out, "Sir, Sir," but didn't think it was anyone referring to me. A security guard caught up to me, demanded to see my ticket and was questioning me about where I'd gotten it? As it turns out, the people at the ticket counter had told him that I'd forced the confused elderly woman to buy it for me!?!?! I explained the whole story from the other day to him, and he finally got off of my back about it. I guess I could see why they'd be looking out for her and everything, but sheesh! I'd tried to help the lady myself - even going so far as to escort her across two states to make sure she got home safely!

I decided not to speak to her again - just to be on the safe side - and the guard later told me that they'd had to call and arrange for the police in her hometown to meet her at the bus station there when she arrived back home. I assume she'd just been hanging out there at the bus station all that time, but I don't really know for sure. Naturally, since I was trying to avoid her, she ends up being on the same bus as me, but didn't seem to remember who I was. As a side note, when we got to Evansville, there were no police waiting to escort her home.....