I Told You So. Now Answer the Phone!

I am not going to rant about BP because neither he onr our children have to do with the story I am about to tell.  I just want to preface with an ongoing argument.  The phone rings.  He looks at it but doesn't answer because he doesn't recognize the number.  I yell to answer the phone.  If our daughters are not in the house we have to answer the phone because they could be in trouble and calling us from someone else's phone.  He hands it to me. It it always a telemarketer, a wrong number, or worse, a political candidate.  He says I told you so.  But now it's my turn.  I am going to rant about a man whom I have never met.

I'm on my way home from work and am winding through the streets of Perth Amboy.  The car in front of me swerves off the road and rams into a parked van.  The man in front of her stops and gets out.  I stop and get out.  The man helps the driver out from behind her deployed airbag.  I call 911.  She is okay.  The man goes on his way.  The driver asks if she can use my phone to call her husband.  She is understandably shaking so I dial for her and hand her the phone.  There is no answer so she thinks I might have dialed wrong.  She tells me the number again and I redial.  Again there is no answer.  We try calling her neighbor but there was no answer there either.  I put the phone back in my pocket and wait just a few minutes until the police come and I leave. 

A couple of blocks later I'm stopped at a red light and get to thinking that her husband might be back or might have missed the call because he was in the bathroom or something.  So I pick up my phone and try calling back.  This time he answers.  I introduce myself and explain that his wife was in a car accident but was not hurt and that the police are with her.

Man:  The phone rang before but I didn't answer because I didn't know who it was.
Me:  Your wife was trying to call because she was in a car accident.
Man:  Where?
Me:  At the corner of Washington St. and East. Ave.
Thinking:  You would know this if you'd answered your phone.

Man:  (aggitated) How am I supposed to get there?  I have the kids here and I don't have car seats.
(They are definitely grandparent age and probably watch their grandkids.)

Me:  I don't know.  I just wanted to let you know what happened. 
Thinking:  I can't help you there.  Work it out.

Man: (yelling) I can't go anywhere!  How is she gonna get home?
Me:  Perhaps the police will take her.
Thinking:  If you answered your phone instead of staring at it you could have all this worked out.

Man:  (a little cooler) What happened?

Me:  She swerved into a parked van.

Man:  (ready to shoot the messenger) Jesus Christ!  How did she do that?

Me:  I couldn't say.  But she is alright.

Man:  Can't she just drive home?

Me:  The car was pretty badly damaged.
Thinking:  Hello, I'm a stranger, not your fairy godmother.

Man:  Jesus Christ!

Me:  I just wanted to let you know what happened.
Thinking:  Maybe she'll ask the police to take her to someone else's house.  Who'd blame her?

Man:  Okay.  Thank you. 
Click.

Lessons learned:  #1  It's bad form to yell at strangers who are trying to help.
                           #2  Answer your phone!  The caller will tell you who it is.
                           #3  BP, I told you so.  Now answer the phone.