Mom On the Alert

YESTERDAY'S EXPERIENCE

I'd just gotten into my car to drive away from the local farmer�s market which is held every Saturday at a local park. After inserting the key and attaching my seat belt, I looked up and saw a captivating scene play out. I was compelled to just sit and watch for a while.

In front of me, a darling toddler in a sweet little dress was running up the little hill that ended at the parking lot. When she reached the crest, the child turned around and ran back to a woman who I supposed was her grandmother. The child ran into the woman's waiting arms, stopped and hugged her elder tightly around the thighs. The grandmother hugged her back.

Laughing delightedly, the child turned around and ran back up to the top of the little hill. The whole game was repeated again and again. The grandmother was smiling, enjoying the child's delight. I started to smile and just sat still watching Love in action.

Shortly, the grandmother looked up and saw me sitting in my car, smiling at the innocent play. She smiled at me, and then with a widening smile, returned her attention to the little girl who continued to run up, then down, each time stopping to exchange hugs.

After drinking in the beauty of this small episode, I started my car, and watched for my chance to pull out of the parking space. I had to wait for a while as many others were leaving at the same time.

Finally, the line of the vehicles passed my car. The last one, instead of exiting the lot, pulled into the space directly across from mine. I started to back up and began to swing around, when the driver of this truck began backing up. By this time I was directly in his path and I didn't think I could move out of his way quickly enough, so I lightly tooted my horn to catch his attention.

The car just kept coming. I quickly tooted 2 more times. The driver heard me then and pulled back into the space. At the same time, I heard an angry "Bleep You!" The driver hurriedly got out of his truck, shouting the epithet again and again. He was a tall, straight, white haired man dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. He was also wearing a large black knee brace on his right knee which extended from his calf to his thigh.

I waited so that he could walk by. It did not appear that he intended to stop. He came close to my car, looked at me, and said; "Bleep You!"

In an effort to diffuse the situation, I said; "I was afraid that you didn't see my car behind you." The angry man said; "I saw you from the moment you started to pull out, Bleep You!" This surprised me. Then I noticed several women who were walking past, shaking their heads at this guy.

He looked up, straightened, and walked toward the park. I heard him shout the curse one more time. At that point, putting as much power as I could into my voice, I shouted out of the passenger side window "GOD BLESS YOU", and drove away.

I don�t know if my comment did anything to help diffuse this man's anger, but it made me feel better. Can't help but wonder ... though ... what was hurting this guy so much?

Posted by Judi at April 17, 2005 12:38 PM | TrackBack