Skip to main content

The Bad Element

Opponents of the Walgreen's in Oakland Mills suggested that it would attract a bad element to the neighborhood. I've always wondered what they imagined that would be. Drug deals? Prostitution? Teen gangs hanging out on the corner, up to no good? Of course, people who like to spread fear don't need to spell it out. They just invoke anxiety in people's brains and allow their imaginations to do the rest.

Thursday evening I came face to face with the bad element at the Oakland Mills Walgreen's. It didn't look like what you might think. A well-dressed woman, maybe in her forties, with well-styled and colored hair, stopped me. She had run out of gas. She didn't have any money. Could I drive her to a gas station and pay for a gas can? Or could I give her ten dollars for gas?

Despite how nice she seemed, she was still a stranger, and I was not going to let her in my car. And I actually didn't have any cash. I told her that.

"I'm so sorry, I just have my bank card and I need to pick up medicine for my husband, who's sick at home."

"Oh, I understand. My son just had his tonsils out..." She gestured to a blue car in the distance.

I hurried on my way. I wondered if I missed an opportunity to help someone genuinely in need. Are we so afraid of one another that we can't reach out anymore?

The next day I returned to the Walgreen's with my daughter to pick up a prescription. The same woman was there. I passed her on the way in. She was talking on a cell phone. I caught a snatch up the conversation.

"But it's cold," I heard her say. "I know that, but it's cold."

If she has a phone, I thought, couldn't she call someone for help?

On my way back to the car, she stopped me. Just as on the night before, she was pleasant, looked well-put-together.

"I've run out of gas. Can you help me with some money?" She gestured around but I didn't see the car she had gestured to the night before.

I still didn't have any cash. I still didn't feel right about what was going on.

As I walked away she was headed in to the store.

*****

What is the bad element? Is it a nice looking, well mannered woman who looks like me who is scamming people for money in the parking lot? Or is it me, too suspicious to reach out a hand to help, too willing to believe that it's a scam?

I don't know the answer.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more