not that this excuses anything, but maybe he was homeless.

or, perhaps he just had a stomach ache and took a while in the bathroom, then came back and made a joke about the amount of time he took by saying he took a shower while in there, too.

?

either way, story sounds creepy! poor lady!

No, I'm not a troll--I'm a long time poster and yes, I too find this very creepy but I've know this woman a long time and I do believe this happened to her. She's very sweet and passive and is the kind of person some people take advantage of (which obviously was done in this case.) I told her immediately that I thought she should contact the shuttle company, which she hasn't done yet--that's how passive she is. Plus, she's thinking that since her son called the company and he paid the bills (hotel and shuttle), that HE should call. Actually, she probably should be in assisted living, but that's an entirely different issue.

I don't know which company it was but I will ask her. I'll also ask her if she had anything missing from her luggage. I hadn't even considered that.

lynn, your response entered my mind too, and I think it may have entered hers. She mentioned to me that he had a picture of his wife and kids in the shuttle, so I think she felt sorry for him.

This was how I envisioned it happened:

He came to the door as indicated. As they were getting ready to leave the room, he asked if he could use the restroom. She said yes, and left with the key to check out and then went to the van where she waited for him and the luggage.

Remember, he doesn't need a key to leave the hotel room, just to get back in.

15 minutes (or more as she was probably at the check out counter for a few minutes), he shows back up with the comment that he likes to shower.

I still don't think he actually took a shower. It was simply a ruse to turn attention away from the fact that he was alone with her luggage for an extended amount of time.

I think he saw a 70+ year old woman alone and thought it was a good opportunity to steal from her. He wouldn't try this on a strong minded person because he'd get caught. Let's face it crooks know who their best targets are and little old ladies are always at the top of the list.

Artlover - can you contact her son and discuss it with him? Someone seriously needs to contact the shuttle company and make a report.

That's so creepy! I'll throw another possible suggestion out there... Maybe the driver had a real reason to need to use the shower - maybe he'd had some kind of "accident" or had no access to a shower at home (homeless?). Then, he made the statement that he always likes to shower after using the bathroom so as to excuse the real reason he needed to use the shower.

Just my crazy theory...

If this poor elderly woman is this passive she really shouldn;t be traveling by herself - since she is such an obvious mark and has no (or has lost) her common sense.

First she should ascertain if anything is missing. Then both the shuttle service and the hotel should be contacted (who knows what he did while in the room - including damaging locks on windows or sliding doors) leaving other occupants open to danger.

Also - he could have made phone calls that could be billed to the OPs friend. And if she really is as described it sound like she would pay them rather than protest.

(I know elderly people can be targets - my parents have told me of a couple of things people tried to pull on them while they were traveling - not realizing that 1) they are not by nature doormats and 2) being New Yorkers are not susceptible to scams or sob stories.

My mom is now 85 and the prototype of the adorable little pink-cheeked, white haired old lady. But NOTHING gets by her - and, all the while being sweet and never raising her voice, she is so totally persistent that no one has a chance against her. And if they try to take advantage they have to deal with my dad - who can get nasty if the situation warrants.

All good thoughts but what I still do not understand is HOW did the shuttle bus driver know the room number for this lady? Did her son give it out? It would seem that that must be the case as I can't imagine the desk clerk giving out the room number unless the son or the lady called the desk and requested that they do so.

Maybe he smoked a joint in the bathroom then came out and used the lotion to cover the smell.
Bizarre behavior, whatever the truth may be.
It's not too late to report this incident. It's unlikely to be the first or the last time this guy has done this. I would like to think the company would be interested in this report.

artlover, I wasn't accusing you of being a troll, and what I don't understand is the sequence of events or what is actually supposed to happen. Maybe toedtoes scenario is the right one? But at this point none of us really knew the sequence of events or where the luggage was when the lady was sitting in the van.
But LoveItaly, I don't have a problem with the guy knowing the room number. If I call a shuttle I tell them my room number at the time so they can contact me when they get there or alert the front desk. I'd assume the son gave the room number. But I've never heard of the shuttle company driver actually going to the room to get the luggage.

As to the driver being a homeless guy who never is able to take a shower. . .well, I don't even want to go there.

I'm going to e-mail her and ask a few of the question you brought up. And yes, her son should probably not only know about this event, but she probably should either have a companion living with her or be in assisted living. I think I have his phone no. somewhere or can get it, and will give him a call.

LOL, what an amusing tale! Why the outrage ... afterall, it ended safely, and now you have a first-rate story for your next encounter ... perhaps a bar might be the safest venue. But congrats to you for maintaining your cool. Take care. Ciao

Just wanted to say artlover is certainly not a troll. I had the pleasure of having dinner with her and her charming husband, quite an enjoyable evening.

Neo, I can't imagine a shuttle driver coming to the room either, even if he was given the room number by this lady's son. I would have called the desk and had my luggage taken down to the lobby by the bellhop.

In rereading the email to artlover I can't figure out if she was expecting the shuttle driver to come to her room or if she was surprised he was 10 minutes early.

In any case, thank goodness nothing horrible happened.

Artlover if you can reach the son that would be good I think. I once had to talk to a daughter of an older woman when I found out inspite of Wheels on Meals etc and meals that the family prepared this dear woman was throwing everything away and not eating anything except for cereal. Everyone ages differently and most people in their 70's are very sharp but I even had an uncle that kind of got out of the loop in his late 60's..beginning of demential. However it does sound like your friend did realize something wasn't right. That is a good sign! But I think what really bothers me is this "I dared not say NO, since it was a long drive to the airport". I have never stayed in a hotel where there was not public restrooms off the hotel lobby. That is what the shuttle driver should have used. It sounds like your dear friend was caught off guard and then felt intimidated.

Hi all again,
I forwarded your messages to my friend (well, I edited them a bit to not hurt her feelings) and here's what she wrote back:

Hi Artlover,

WOW! My weird event sure got a lot of reactions. Of
course, this is the first time I have ever read any of
these "blogs" (is that what they are?). I guess the
readers (and you) should have known that my hotel room
was in an old fashioned hotel (a motel, actually)
where you have access to the rooms from the outside.
I had checked out of the room earlier, and the "key"
was a magnetic card. And the guy did carry my bags
out to the van before returning to the still-open room
for his shower. So I wasn't concerned with anything
of mine being taken, though I did consider his taking
other stuff. However, I could see the room door from
my seat in the van, and there were no back doors or
windows. So he couldn't have taken anything like
towels or blankets without me noticing. The phone
calls, though, that is a possibility that scares me in
retrospect. Especially since his mother lives in a
foreign country. Perhaps this all was a wake-up call.
Travelling alone at my age, I need to be aware that a
sign on my forehead says "Prime opportunity to
victimize".

As for the person going to the S.F. area, worrying
about the shuttle company, it was not one I'd ever
heard of. My son had found the number in the Oakland
phone book.

Intrepidtraveler

LoveItaly,
Thanks for the nice words. And yes, I'm going to speak with her son. They live near you and one of the things they were considering was having her relocate around there. I think it would be best for her, but she's very independent. If she does, I'll come visit both of you, but I won't use that shuttle service either!

Hi artlover, I would so love to see you again!! Your friend is fortunate to have you as part of her life. The story makes more sense now and obviously your friend is sharp and alert, but older people are looked at as victims unfortunatly.

Do you still have my email address?

Wacky.

Artlover - from her response, it sounds like she wasn't as "naive" or "incapable" as we all first thought. She had the sense to check out first (which will give her some clout if he did make long distance calls on the phone). He loaded her luggage first. And, it was a motel not a hotel with a lobby and indoor access only. As it was a motel, it sounds like he was being nice to a 70+ year old lady and picking up her luggage from the room.

Hearing her response to everyone's comments, I have a new theory:

He had constipation! He spent all that time trying to go, and, realizing he had been gone so long AND not wanting to say "gee, I'm constipated", he made a joke about taking a shower to account for the lengthy bathroom visit.

P.S. Her response is extremely well written and thought out - she doesn't sound at all like she's losing her facilities. I sure hope I'm as cohesive as that at 65, let alone in my 70's.

artlover - thanks for the follow-up. Wonder if this driver was related to one we had in SF (although this was a cab). On the way from hotel to airport he kept commenting on how much SF had changed while he was "away" and how this was his first day back working since he had been "away".

It soon became clear that "away" was in prison. Then he did not take clearly marked exit for airport and I started to have all sorts of paranoid thoughts about us being abducted by an axe murderer. Turns out he had gotten traffic reports and was taking alternate route to airport, but we were very happy to be out of that cab.

Hmmmmm. ...In Amérique, Timothy McVeigh explose un bâtiment qui est plein de gens ; Scott Peterson assassine son enfant et sa femme enceinte ; Martha Stewart est reconnu coupable sur les charges de conspiration, l'obstruction à la justice et faisant des déclarations fausses (pourtant elle est maintenant à la télé encore apparemment tout pardonn&eacute ; il y a un site web pour élire Jon Stewart pour le Président des Etats-Unis ; les Gens sont exposés tout le temps à la télé pour Le sexe des enfants (pourtant toujours ils persistent) ; les gens sont violés et sont assassinés tous les jours ; et nous le pensons bizarre et terrifiant qu'un chauffeur prendrait une douche dans l'hôtel de son client ? Oui, c'est bizarre. C'est l'Amérique.

Well hunterblu, "what if"....that driver had his own little perversion, heavens knows what he might really have been up to, maybe just a shower, maybe not, which is sort of what we are all getting at here with our concern!

Artlover, this sounds like an urban legend in the making!

The 70-year-old woman is able to use the internet and email, yet doesn't understand that this situation calls for a complaint to the man's employer?

Not to mention all the other legitimate questions posed by others.

If she is truly a candidate for assisted living and is losing her short-term memory, the 15 minutes could have been 5 minutes in reality. And if she has trouble hearing, she could have completely misunderstood his remark about the shower. If he took a shower, was his hair wet? If so, why didn't she mention that in the email?

I have a very dear friend who is just 60 years old, but is about as gullible as a six-year-old. She is constantly sending me emails from her friends, warning against things what she swears have happened to them but that are simply old, tired-out urban legends. I'm NOT saying you are unwittingly passing along urban legends, just that your friend sounds like the kind of person who STARTS them.

And we're sure lucky to live here, aren't we, Hunterblu?