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Help - A Tale from a Girl with a Pirates of the Caribbean Notebook #atozchallenge
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 7:32PM 
Dear Stranger in Need,
I want to help you but....
There’s only so much time remaining and I’d rather use that time for the purpose of completing the tasks on my own “to-do” list.
We don’t even speak the same language, so how can I solve – or troubleshoot – your problems with such a huge barrier between us, especially when I’m not exactly sure how to solve mine?!
It’s a wonder you even asked me for help in the first place, considering the fact that there are other people nearby who are more equipped to handle your situation – people with more skills, time and patience – people who are actually being paid by the hour to do the very same thing you’re asking of me.
Nevertheless, I’ll try to help you but...
Don’t expect me to work any wonders. I’ll do what I can, which by now doesn’t seem like much because you’re still in the same predicament that you were in before my assistance came into the mix. Now that we’ve hit a brick wall, I’m going to provide you with some options that will at least give you what you need for the time being.
So...
I wish I could do more to help you, for I know what it’s like to be in a position where something needs to be done and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. The customer service representative on the phone is giving me instructions that are difficult to understand, the library where I need to use the computer -- to print out a very important document -- is closing in less than 60 minutes and I’m on a soon approaching deadline that could possibly change my life, for better or for worse.
;)
I know what it’s like to encounter a problem at one of the worst possible times that one could ever pop up and I also know what it’s like to not be able to fix it. I am also all too familiar with the frustrations and discouragement that arises when it seems like all hope is lost because the people who I asked for help were reluctant to help and/or acted like I was bothering them and refused to help me at all.
That’s why the next time you or someone like you needs help – if there is ever a next time, I hope I’m more patient, I also hope I have more useful troubleshooting skills to share and I hope that by then I will have learned how to speak your language so that we can communicate effectively enough to try to find a solution to the problematic task at hand – whatever it is. That’s the least I could do for the very person who inadvertently helped me with my writer’s block.
Thank’s to you, I now have a post for Day 8 of the A to Z Challenge. Thanks to you, I will now think twice about brushing off someone in need of help ‘cause I’m too busy or too uninterested to help that person. After all, Help – and lots of it, is what makes it possible for me to do what I want to do – make movies!
Sincerely,
The Girl with the Pirates of the Caribbean Notebook
What would YOU do if a stranger asked you for help at a very inconvenient time?
How comfortable are YOU asking strangers for help?
Are you more comfortable -- or less comfortable -- asking for help from people who you already know?
*This post is based on a true story.
Reader Comments (16)
It's really hard to ask friends for help, much less strangers. But it's about swallowing pride and I'm getting better at it. We all need help.
It really depends on the situation. If I'm traveling and lost, I have no trouble talking to strangers. Broken down on the side of the road? Hmmm . . . Asking friends - no problem if I truly need help. #atozchallenge
Wow...now *that* was an amazing post. I wasn't sure what I was reading when I first started it, but I couldn't tear myself away once I got into it. Cathartic and supremely entertaining. This is the post if the day!
True story? I believe it. I've been in similar situations. I don't like to ask for help, but I like to help others when I can.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
It's better to ask for help when someone can help you than to suffer. As long as it's not a constant, never-ending stream because you're always putting yourself in a bad situation. But in the normal cases, it can even serve to bring two people closer.
#atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
I don't like to ask for help, but sometimes you have to. I like to be able to help as much as I can, friend or stranger, and along the way try to make a new friend of the stranger. Thanks for the thought. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living
I find it easier to ask friends for help than I do strangers. Often I feel, wrongly I suspect, though I'm not brave enough to try it out, that these strangers are either going to think I'm weird for asking questions and for help, or their going to make me feel small. If I have to, i can do it, but it's certainly hard work for me!
I'm not very big on asking for help - says the chick who is self-publishing and needs ALL the help she can get to spread the word about her novels. But it's true. Asking for help is something I'm not as comfortable with due to a bit of shyness mixed with a bit of pride. But in situations where I must, I do ask.
I've recently had someone ask me for help at an inconvenient time. It was someone I knew but the timing was bad financially. I helped as I could, just putting good juju out in the universe.
Nicole, I have awarded you a Very Inspiring Blogger Award. You may pick it up at my website. Thank you so much for all you do, and the way that you think.
jean yates#atozchallenge
It depends. Usually, I will help. I would want the same mercy shown to me. However, there have been times I have been asked for help and did not feel safe in rendering it. For example, the time the angry man stopped me outside a local shopping man, insisting that he needed me to help him with his car because no one else would. I am this unlikely mechanic, ignorant of the inner-workings of automobiles, and there are men all around. And he asks me? No, sorry, I left the scene.
But when I know someone needs help and I can render it, I do.
I hate asking for help. I have this thing about standing out, and needing help embarrasses me. I have done it, but it's hard for me.
Nice to meet you through the A to Z!
I need help from pirates this week.
I pretty much don't speak to strangers, so this would be difficult for me.
Through all my medical issues, I've learned not only to accept help...but also to ASK for it. That's very hard for me to do, being such an independent person.
As to helping strangers, that's all situation dependent so I find answering your question hard, though your post was beautiful. I wonder if the person in the story will read this...
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge
tough one! I'm really not sure what i would do if someone asked me for help. I probably would help if I knew i could do something. otherwise, id help that person finding someone who could actually help!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
I don't know why, but I absolutely cringe at asking anyone for anything. I tend to just tough it out on my own, which is a little silly because I have wonderful family and friends who would be glad to help.
Great post, it feels good to help.