Years ago (1979) my neighbors had moved to Seattle and told me to visit them anytime over a weekend, so I flew up there. I called them from the airport several times and got no answer. I'm sitting at a bus stop wondering what to do and this guy about my age struck up a conversation with me. He said I looked worried about something and we talked. He ended up offering to let me sleep on his couch at his apartment for the night.

My friends answered their phone the next day (they'd taken a short trip) and I took a bus to their place. I don't know what I'd done were it not for that guy at the bus stop.

I would have called before even flying there, but the friends weren't the type to really ever go anywhere.