Then it happened.
To my surprise, his car zoomed by me and in a fit of rage he screamed an obscenity and shot me the bird.
As I watched him zoom away, I noticed a bumper-sticker that read something profound… and I was…
C O N F U S E D !!
Why?
Because typically, I drive, kinda like a Grandma.
It’s not that I’m incapable of driving real fast, or well, or both. I’ve just conditioned myself to take it easy on the roads. I’m purposefully extra courteous, and I make it a point to try and out-polite everyone else.
I don’t tailgate, I don’t try and squeeze into places at the last moment, I don’t break-check, and I leave plenty of space between myself and the person in front of me. And because of that, people don’t typically cut me off.
People seem already angry enough without me adding to their frustration… so I simply don’t.
Maybe it’s because I grew up driving “junk-cars” that may have wheels fall off if I turn too sharp or may just “explode” if I accelerate too fast. And, yep. That actually happened.
So, was I surprised that someone was road-raging on me? Yep, I was REALLY surprised because I didn’t even know what I did.
But I was even MORE surprised when I saw the bumper sticker that was so proudly placed on the bumper of the person that had just verbally assaulted me… and it made me laugh… out loud. Yep, really. I actually LOL’d.
Why did I LOL? It’s because his bumper-sticker simply read…
“JUST BE KIND.”
I was reminded of an experience I had a few years back where I was real close to a road rage incident myself.
It started like any other normal weekday. I had just dropped off my kids at school and rolled up to a stop at a 4-way stop sign right near the elementary… just as a truck stopped at the intersection to my left – at the exact same moment.
I knew the law. At a four-way stop if two vehicles reach the intersection simultaneously, the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.
So, like any good, polite, law abiding citizen, I cautiously inched out into the intersection and started on my way.
Not so fast, Kyle.
The truck squealed his tires as he turned left in behind me – barely missed clipping the tail end of my car and pulled alongside me with FURY in his eyes and SWEAR WORDS on his lips.
I glanced over and realized… this could get ugly fast.
He was OUT OF CONTROL ANGRY… and I can handle myself just fine. I mean, I’d spent 4 years boxing and was in peak physical condition. This dude had BETTER take it down a notch, I thought internally.
I glanced over again to see – and again hear (through my, and his, closed windows) a spewing forth of swear words that would make a sailor blush.
Just like any red-blooded, American man would do, I sized up the situation.
He was WAY-TOO-CLOSE to the steering wheel to be a man of any size (and I’m not a small man) and if he’s “out-of-control-mad” I knew he’d be easy prey if… “IT ALL WENT DOWN!”
“Stupid, punk” better settle down or I’m gonna mess him up.” I thought-raged.
As we rolled up to the next stop-sign, side-by-side…
I quickly reconsidered, and came up with…
An alternate option.
So, I composed myself, I rolled down my window – just as he did – and I craned my neck in his direction and calmly said…
“If I did something to upset you, I sure am sorry. That wasn’t my intent at all. ARE YOU OKAY?”
Wait!? What!?
The OVERWHELMING FURY in his eyes… well…
It absolutely disappeared in an instant.
He composed himself as well, and said, “Oh… (long pause) well… (long pause) that’s okay.”
And he drove off.
For a moment I sat there in stunned silence. THEN… my mind started racing.
What had just happened? Wow… that was COOL!?
The very next day… yep, the VERY NEXT DAY, I rolled up to the same stop sign at the same time and guess who rolled up at the same time… again?
That’s right… TINY, ANGRY, truck driver guy.
Well, I sure wasn’t going to make THAT mistake again, so I politely waved to him to go ahead.
Can you guess what he did? He smiled from ear-to-ear and waved back at me, “No, you go ahead.” He motioned.
Wait!? What!?
All of a sudden, we were now “best of buddies?”
Wait!? What!?
Here’s the question I want to know the answer to.
We all know we should “just be kind.” And I think we all TRY to “just be kind” – at least I hope.
But are we willing to “just be kind” when others ARE NOT? When THEY start crap with us? When they instigate or escalate situations unnecessarily?
I can tell you this. Mr. “ZOOMED BY ME AND SHOT THE FINGER IN A FIT OF RAGE” wants all of… US to “just be kind.”
We ALL want OTHERS to “just be kind.”
But are WE?
Am I?
Are YOU?
How about this. Instead of asking others to “just be kind” or putting it on a bumper sticker as a show of “virtue signaling,” how about we start ourselves. How about WE “just be kind.”
Even when others aren’t.
ESPECIALLY when others aren’t.
Or… we can… “just be kind of an a-hole.” LOL
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