The Boy Who Cried Wolf

I value the opinion of my loyal blog readers. Even though in the past I think we have not always seen things the exact same way. But on this particular issue, I would really like to hear your input.

About a month or so a go, this guy I know, we will call him, Bob. Bob was having some issues with his car and needed to take it in to get fixed. Bob took his bike and packed it into his car, drove to Brookfield, dropped off his car and then biked back home. A couple days later, his car was fixed, and Bob asked me if I would give him a ride to pick up his car. At the time he asked me, I was entertaining some company at my house, namely my old college roommates, Kevin, Mark and Suzanne. I would say that we get together maybe once a year, so it was a fairly rare occasion. I asked Bob "Why don't you just ride you bike back to pick your car up?" Bob replied "Well my bike just barely fits into my car and I don't want to ride on Bluemound road all the way to Brookfield, because it is unsafe." I was reluctant to leave my friends, but being the good guy that I am, gave Bob a ride to pick up his car.

A week or so ago, Bob broke his bike and it needed to be taken into the bike shop. Bob again somehow managed to get his bike barely into his car and drove to the bike shop to drop it off. A couple days ago, Bob asked me if I would give him a ride to go and pick up his bike. I asked him why he doesn't just pick it up with his car, because as history shows, he has twice gotten his bike into his car. He explained to me that his bike doesn't fit or rather just barely fits into his car. I told Bob that I would give him a ride to get his bike. But then the more I thought about it, I realized that on general principle I can't. Now if he had told me that he needed a ride because he was too lazy to take the front wheel off, or he was worried about getting greasy/oil in his car (which can be remedied with a towel) then I could see giving him a ride. But his reasoning is that his bike doesn't fit in his car. When if you look at the past history, he has twice been able to get his bike into his car. The only way I can accept his reasoning that he needs a ride to pick up his bike because it doesn't fit in his car, is if when he took it into the bike shop, they made his bike bigger. Right? This isn't about being a good guy, this is about principle.

My parents raised me to believe in right and wrong. I went to college and studied engineering, where answers are black and white there are no grays. The bike either fits in the car or it doesn't. The bike has fit in the car twice before, it doesn't matter that it just barely fits or not. If a=b once, and then a=b a second time, don't tell me that "a" doesn't equal "b" a third time.

Let me use this analogy, suppose there is a hole in a fence and your friend sticks his head through this hole. He gets his head stuck and yells for you to come and help him get his head out of the hole. You walk over and help him get his head out. Then your friend turns around and sticks his head right back into the hole and gets it stuck again. I am not going to help him get his head out. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

So please vote in the poll, I am really interested in how people vote.

This isn't about being a good guy or not, this is about princple. Should I have given Bob a ride to pick up his bike?
	Yes, because he said his bike doesn't fit in his car even though it does. What?
	No. If the bike fits in the car, then it fits in the car. He can pick it up himself.
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