People. Sometimes they astound me.On my way home from work the other day, I stopped at a red light. The lane next to me was the right hand turn lane. (Here in Florida, unless otherwise noted, you can stop, look and if no cars are coming you can turn right on red.)
A horn blasted behind me, and I looked to see what was going on. A truck, second in line in the right turn, started honking at the car in front of him. The little lady in front appeared to be in her late sixties or seventies, I couldn't tell. She was hesitant to turn right on red with the cars traveling so fast.
But, yep, that dude in the truck, kept honking. He stuck his hand out the window and motioned for her to go. Of course everyone knows, that only serves to rattle a person more.
Then cars around me started honking at the impatient guy. To my surprise, the dude got out of his truck, went and knocked on her window, cussing at her to move. (You just don't do that here either, too dangerous.)
A man in another car said, "Hey man, leave the lady alone!"
To which he responded, "Kiss........" His face was as red as a beet with anger. If anyone was going to have a wreck or heart attack that day, he sure was a candidate.
The light turned green and off we all went. But what a lasting impression that made. Hope the little lady is okay.
"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city." Proverbs 16:32
I drove away angry at the man, like, I wished I was a cop and could follow and ticket him. Was my anger justified? Maybe. No one was hurt, it was just senseless. But as I stewed in my disgust on the way home, I started to wonder, maybe the guy just got laid off work, or someone was ill in the hospital, or ......
Before I hand down judgement, the biggest question is, can I control myself?
Photo: Melissa Evans
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19 comments:
This was great, Karen. I've seen the same scene played out here, time and again.
Love your parting words, though -- we have to examine ourselves, too. It's easy to forget that. Thanks for reminding us!
Have a great day!
I have noticed this kind of thing happening a lot here too lately and I just don't get it...I wish I could try to put myself in other people's shoes and not get angry but, gee it's hard!
Best wishes and thanks for the insightful post,
Natasha.
I work hard to have control on the road. I see soooo many examples of people getting miffed and insane b/c of road rage. Fingers flying.
Pretty sad.
~ Wendy
People can be so rude. With driving I tell my kids, if in doubt, don't.
Perhaps I need to work on my heart more. I read this and was angry at the man too. You are right, maybe he was just blowing off steam from a bad experience. Still, he SHOULD be held accountable for his actions regardless.
God...please convict our hearts and give us wisdom for situations like this.
He may have had a bad day, but now he was creating one for everyone around him. That's pretty pointed and aggressive behaviour. I'm glad the woman was ok.
The kind of thought you put into this is similar to those which cross my mind when I see someone speeding and zipping in front of cars. My first response is "idiot" but then I start wondering if they're rushing to a hospital after receiving bad news. Probably unlikely, but it's a good reminder not to judge.
Wow, talk about a bad day for everyone involved. Hopefully, lessons are learned.... :O)
What about the licence plate, cell phone and 911 "Road Rage"? Up here what you saw would get a fast response from the local sherif or RCMP.
So true - the impatience and anger that is displaced because of something else going on in someone's life -- or maybe, just maybe he was just a big ole A-H!! huhn! ...or maybe the first thing *laugh*
What a great post, Karen.
And no, i don't always control myself. In public, yes just about always. But here at home, ashamedly sometimes I just don't....
Great post! It is true that we need to learn to control ourselves and keep in mind all possible scenarios, but somethings it's just hard. We are humans, we react at the moment...I think it's more of a matter of being able to calm down and analyze then the given situation.
Laura, it's crazy how impatient we are, me included.
Natasha, oh I do have a problem not reacting with anger to anger. An ongoing learning process.
Wendy, yes, it does bother me, too.
Kathy, good wisdom for them to learn.
Parsley, isn't it crazy how just seeing someone get mad, gets me mad?
Hilary, we have plenty of speeder and "zippers" in and out here-lots of accidents.
Diane, yes, hope all calmed down.
IanH, here is a bit different, but if a cop were near there, he might've pulled the guy over and talked with him.
Kathryn, yes, to all those. :P
Sara, ohhhh, let's not go there. I think 'cause we want our fam to be perfect and they're not. ouch!
Mavi, you are so right, on all counts.
So many times I judge people for their stinky actions or attitudes, then the Lord reminds me, "You have no idea what kind of boo-boos are in that person's heart. Get the log out of your own eye."
Gulp. Okay, Lord. I repent.
Great post, Karen!
I got irritated just reading that, what a rude dude....and then I went "wow" I need to work on that too. I get impatient with others who slow me down and I get angry when someone becomes impatient with me....I have been on both ends of the story...though honest to goodness I have never gone that far, maybe just a toot of the horn and roll of the eyes. I have been learning to be way more patient since my Dad's alzheiner's diagnosis, you just can't rush him or he breaks down :)
Thanks for the food for thought, Karen, you always get me thinking! You should write for a living...oh ya you do :)
Hugs, dear friend
Ma TK
Sure hope he is single! WOW!!! I have a temper when I see people being mean...always have...so I might have been yelling at him too...I am definately working on it becuase i KNOW it really does more harm then good.
THat little giraffe head caught my eye on the side of my blog :)
Jeanette, oh, I'm right there with you.
Ma TK, I know exactly what you mean. My mom has Alzheimer's, too. It does make you learn more patience. And, oh, my hope is to one day "write for a living." Right now I'm just starting out. :)
Libbie, I'm like you, but a bit scared to yell back. Oh, my daughter-in-love took that picture at Busch Gardens when they were here last month. Just had to use it somewhere.
Sad Karen. Road rage is getting worse here too. People are losing their ability to be patient with each other. Sad. - Dave
Hi Karen,
I am a little slow in making the rounds this week...
I feel terrible about that poor lady, that guy is lucky she didn't have a temper like he did. Otherwise she might have just reversed right over him and his horn. I won't be able to sleep tonight thinking of that poor lady.
Thanks for the tag, I will get to it next week. For some reason, I am running like a maniac this week, haven't done much blogging. I don't know exactly where the time goes...
Have a wonderful and joyous Mother's Day. In my book, that translates to, I hope you get flowers for your garden, and don't have to clean up lunch!!!
Kate
Dave, you are right, I do believe.
Kate, I think everyone is so busy this time of year, or anytime for that matter. No problem, relax and enjoy when you can. Aww, thanks for the Mo's day wish. You take tomorrow's earned day off and enjoy yourself.
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