When I was five years old, my dad took me to the local ski shop to rent our winter skis for the season. I was a pretty obnoxious kid at times and apparently had already given my dad a hard time on the way to the ski shop.
On the way inside, I stopped and saw an empty yogurt container on the snow-covered ground. Why I did this, I'll never know, but I brought it in to show my dad, who was meeting with a salesman. He was furious with me (for interrupting him, for carrying garbage around and bringing it into the store, etc) and ordered me to go sit in the car until he was ready for me to come back in.
I walked back to the car. As I passed the side of the ski store, I noticed something weird, between the store and the store next to it. About 60 feet in front of me, it looked there was someone laying in the snow. To me, it seemed like they were maybe trying to drink from the water spigot that was attached to the ski store's outer wall.
I went in and told my dad about it. My dad, furious that I got out of the car, told me to stop messing around and get back in the car, otherwise I'd be grounded.
I went back outside. The person was still there. I couldn't see a face, just a body laying in the snow.
I ran back into the store and told my dad about it again. I'm not sure what I did to convince him, but apparently he thought I might really be serious, because he agreed to go outside with me and check it out.
All I remember next is getting back into our car and watching an ambulance arrive...and watching paramedics carry an old lady on a stretcher.
As I found out later, the old lady had been walking to the grocery store from her home (only a few houses away from the ski store), and had somehow collapsed on the way. We got a call from her family that night, saying that if she had been outside a few hours longer, she surely would have died.
I have no idea why the yogurt cup in this story is so important to me, but I can never tell it without mentioning it first. It's the most clear thing I remember about the story for some reason. It was Dannon.
