every woman's greatest fear.

I got AAA because I was terrified of being stranded on the side of the road. That's just asking for trouble. Hi, I'm a single woman, sitting alone here in the middle of nowhere. Did I mention that I'm incredibly vulnerable right now? All you'd have to do is pretend to know something about cars, I'd turn my back to pop the hood and BOP! Right on the head. Then you could take a Sharpie and write all kinds of political slogans that I do not agree with all over my face. It's every woman's greatest fear.

I was thinking of every woman's greatest fear last Friday. I was sitting in the grass, eating bing cherries leftover from my lunch. It was a lovely afternoon: warm, but not hot. The work week was over and the weekend stretched out in front of me. I had a yard sale plan in my pocket and some homemade potato bread dough in my fridge. Except for the fact that my car was sitting dead, blocking a lane of traffic at rush hour, it was quite a pleasant way to spend the time.

A truck pulled up behind me, the fourth such vehicle to offer assistance. Guys, Southerners are so nice. Out climbed a sherrif's deputy who looked like a grown-up Boy Scout, a man who had gone into the force to protect and to serve, and here I was, a little lady who looked like she could use a little protection and service. With the help of another passerby, we pushed my car a little further up the road to improve the traffic pattern a bit. Our helper got back into his van and drove away while I waved enthusiastically in an effort to communicate my immense gratitude. Do-gooders everywhere.

While we waited for the tow truck, the deputy directed other, more mobile vehicles around my silent machine. I wasn't really sure what to do. I felt like I should have the hood up, so I would at least look like I was trying to get out of the way. Most people avoided looking directly at me, no doubt feeling annoyed at the inconvenience and yet embarrassed to not stop and see if I needed help. It would be pointless for me to look under the hood. I'd already looked there. I was hoping that I might open it up and discover the Car Talk guys sitting there, bickering jovially and arguing over whether it was the solenoid or the fuel pump. But all I saw was the inside of a car. Even if I knew why the car had suddenly flatlined, I'd have no idea what to do about it.

So I sat in the grass, ate cherries and thought about how being stranded on the side of the road wasn't all that bad. Provided it's a nice day, you're in a safe neighborhood where helpful people frequent, you've got a cell phone and a AAA membership, a cop happens to drive by, and you have a healthy snack. I mean, really, what are we women so scared about?