A hitchhiker's guide to life's detours

She was probably quite a sight that morning, an 81-year-old woman in her dressiest slacks and bright blue suede blazer, standing on the side of Monroe Road during rush hour – with her thumb out.

Anita Brisbin’s car had a flat tire, and she had a job interview in Cotswold. It was between 8 and 9 a.m. on a Monday, so hundreds of cars passed her heading north toward uptown, green light wave after green light wave, with no one stopping.

Then one woman did.

On Thursday, Anita sat at her kitchen table, with the woman’s business card in one hand, her phone in another. “I’m sure she’ll remember me,” she said.

It would be hard not to. Give Anita Brisbin 15 minutes – about the time it takes to get from Monroe Road to Cotswold – and she’ll guide you enthusiastically through her story. She’s a Staten Island native of French-Canadian ancestry. She's lived in several places before coming to Charlotte 30 years ago with a husband, Robert, who’d had a stroke. He has since died, and her mother, Evelyn Gianna, now 103, is in an assisted living home.

Anita, who was a Realtor for years, has spent her savings on her husband’s and mother’s care. Along with Social Security payments, she needed some extra money. That’s what put her on Monroe Road that Monday.

She had heard the new PetSmart in Cotswold was hiring and decided to give it a try. Her friends raised wary eyebrows at the idea, fretting that maybe this isn’t what you do at her age.

Anita’s response: “People should not be afraid to tackle the world.”

Of course, sometimes the world tackles you, which is what happened on the drive to PetSmart. Anita heard a funny noise, and that became a loud noise, so she pulled off Monroe and saw her tire was shredded. For some of us, that might have been it for the job interview, but Anita doesn’t like to let life decide how life will go. She locked the car and, for the first time in her life: “Put my thumb out.”

That’s when the cars passed her. And passed her. “I was getting annoyed,” she said, back at her kitchen table, but then noted: “I think they were startled. You should have seen me.” And she tilted her head back and laughed.

Which brings up one more thing you should know about Anita Brisbin: She laughs. A lot. She’s had cancer and a mastectomy, and she’s spent her savings on care for her husband and mother. “You can’t go through what I’ve gone through without a sense of humor,” she said.

So she laughs at having to look for a job at her age, and she laughs at walking up Monroe Road in rush hour traffic. And instead of dwelling on all those cars that passed her, she makes a big deal out of the one that didn’t.

“That’s who I am,” she said.

Maybe it’s how you hit 81 without slowing down.

Finally, a sedan stopped, and the woman inside asked if Anita needed help. She drove Anita straight to the PetSmart – and in time for the interview – and wished her luck . She also gave her a company business card and wrote “Nancy” on it, but Anita misplaced it and didn’t remember the business – until the card turned up on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, Anita dialed the number and explained her story to the voice that answered. A few minutes later, Nancy Hartsell called back. Yes, she said, she remembered Anita.

She explained that she was driving to work near uptown at Hovis Radiator Co. when she passed Anita. Nancy, who is 57, thought about what she hoped someone would do if it were her mother on the side of the road. So she stopped to see if this woman needed any help. “That was really nice,” Anita said.

And: “Thank you.”

And also: “I got the job.”

So the two talked about that and pets and when Nancy might come to visit her there. “Saturdays and Sundays,” Anita told her. Another story to tell, perhaps. Another reason to laugh.