That time you tried to be a good Samaritan, but...

[jewcer2k5]

A few weeks ago one of my best friends told me he was proposing today so we (my wife and I) planned on meeting him and his new fiancee out for some drinks to celebrate. He decided that he wanted to go to some Whiskey Bar in the Midtown West/Hell's Kitchen area. Now I HATE going that far away from my apartment on the Upper East Side but it's his day so we were going.

For you non-NY'ers many NY'ers don't like to leave their neighborhood for whatever reason and I am one of those people. Its about a $20 cab ride each way or public transportation which is especially painful on weekend nights. It's just far away by NY standards.

So we get lucky and hop in a cab right in front of our building. My wife reaches down and notices a phone. Well I tell her to give it to me and I will try and get in touch with the owner to get them their phone back. Well 20 minutes later the phone rings (while still in the cab ride trek to the other side of the world) and the guy starts asking me if I can help him out. I try to explain to him that I am on my way to hell's kitchen and that I can leave it with my doorman when I get home for him to pickup in the morning. Well that isn't good enough for this guy (kid) who lost his phone. I told him where I am going and he asks if I can just meet him where he is (obviously the upper east side right near my apartment) because it is convenient for him. I repeated that I was going out for the evening, if him and his friends wanted to swing by to get the phone they could and I'd have it for him or I could leave it with my doorman for him to pick up.

His response "do you know how far away that is??!?!?!!". Well yes, I do, because I too live in the city and I am sitting in the cab. He then asks me if I can bring it to him and just help him out by meeting him up there and he will be a sport and buy me a beer. Oh sweet, $40+ in cabs both ways, skipping celebrating my friends engagement (which I told him thats where I was going), over an hour in a cab to waste my Saturday night and he will be a sport and buy me a beer. Well after trying to reason with him for a few more minutes he goes "well sir, let me explain, I'm in a santa suit". For those non-NY'ers today was Santa-Con in NY. Thousands of post grad (and some older) people dress up in their santa's finest and bar hop around the city. Well this told me what I needed to know, he was TRASHED. Again I offered to drop the phone at my apartment when I returned home or he could meet me and again he told me that wasn't good enough for him. It wasn't good enough that I didn't take his phone, didn't throw his phone out, didn't just leave it there but it really wasn't good enough that I wouldn't ruin my evening of celebration for him.

I ended by saying, hope you had fun Santa, I am giving the driver the phone back hopefully he can work it out and drive the phone back to you.

I would've happily told him where to get the phone and he could've gotten it at any time after I returned home. Oh drunken foolishness.

Anyone else have any fun good Samaritan stories where it's just not enough for the person that screwed up?