But fortunately, I was lucky.

While locking the doors at work to close (I work at a go-kart facility), I noticed a man standing outside by himself.  At first, I decided it’s best to ignore him and get in my car right away, but I looked at him and felt kind of bad.  I walked up to him and asked, “Were you coming here to race?”  In broken english, he said, “Yes, but it was mistake.  I am waiting for friends, but I didn’t know you close.”  I said, “Oh, I’m sorry, yeah we close at eleven.  Did need a cab?”  ”I see if friends get me.”  Just in case, I gave him the number for a cab anyway, wished him a good night and got into my car.  As I was driving away, he gestured for me to stop, and he said, “I have italian phone, it no go through.”  Realizing I forgot to give him an area code, I said, “Oh, I’ll call the cab for you.”  Then he unexpectedly asked me for a ride to a casino (The Rio) that was just a couple blocks away.  Nervously trying to stall for an answer, I asked, “The Rio?”  ”Yes.”  Without even thinking, my mouth just answered for me. “Yeah, sure.”  And as he got into the car I was almost certain my life was going to end right there, or at least sometime within the next ten minutes.

But even though I knew the risk I was taking giving a complete stranger a ride to a hotel at 11 o’clock at night on the shitty side of the Las Vegas strip where prostitutes’ yellow rubber boots glistened beneath the street lights, I felt that he was a genuinely good person.

And a genuinely good person he was.  I told him I’m just a girl raised in Vegas going to school and he told me he was an Italian journalist who had won a trip to what I consider my home.  He continuously told me I’m so kind to give him a ride and thanked me over and over.  His name was Nikolas, and I will never forget him.  He reminded me that not everyone in the world is evil.

Anyone know of any good books?