Trying to Be Helpful

This weekend my wonderful husband took me on a three-night no-children getaway weekend. We flew on an airplane, stayed in swanky hotels, visited with friends along the way, and ate a bunch of AMAZING food. It was an incredible weekend not just for the fun we had together but for the blessings of our friends and family - my mom and sister who watched the boys, friends in town who helped us with schlepping the boys around a bit, and friends who set up amazing opportunities for us on our trip. In a nutshell. But that nutshell doesn't begin to tell it all. We had so many things happen along the way.

We flew up to San Francisco (SFO) on Thursday afternoon. Our Thursday night reservation included two passes for the famous San Francisco Cable Cars. I wanted to visit Chinatown again so on Thursday evening, we waited for the cable car at Hyde Street. Now, this particular line has a stop at the top of Lombard street, right at the edge of the crooked part.

The cable car was packed with tourists. One gentleman was trying to hold on while taking pictures of the incredible views. His wife stood just in front of me, while I sat on a bench. She faced away from the view of the crooked street. Being the cute, perky and helpful person I am, I naturally wanted her to see the amazing sight just behind her! If I were so close to a world-famous location, I would want someone to point it out to me. And so I tried. I really tried.

I started with "Turn around! Look!"

The woman looked at me as if I had two heads.

"Famous street! Look!" I pointed. Pointing is the international sign for "TURN AROUND AND LOOK IN THE DIRECTION I'M POINTING." Right?

She replied, still facing ME, "I do not understand what you are saying," in an accent that sound German to me.

DaddyDoc says that at this point I drew a bunch of "Z"s in the air and said "ZIG-ZAG STREET" while demonstrating the international sign for "Zig-Zag". (He laughs when he tells this part of the story.)

The woman still did not turn around. She repeated "I do not understand you" in an exasperated voice. She left "You stupid American woman" silent but I heard it in her eyes and exasperation. I know she thought it.

I tried to show her the map, with the picture of a crooked street. I continued to POINT behind her back to try to get her to look. I was standing up to emphatically express the urgency of the situation. Standing up to make a point is the international sign for "HURRY UP BEFORE THE CABLE CAR STARTS DRIVING AGAIN!"

Finally I sat down again and turned to Doc saying "I was just trying to be a helpful American. I would want her to do it for me if I was missing an opportunity to look at something famous."

We did not help any other tourists during our stay.

Actually, I take that back. A woman in front of our hotel asked us where to find the Fisherman's Wharf. We told her to continue walking down the street and she could not miss it. As she walked ahead, she told us she was looking for the Holiday Inn on Fisherman's Wharf. I few hours later, I saw it on a map. Yeah, it's a few blocks away from the Fisherman's Wharf. We sent her out of her way, actually. Oops.