The Ability To Remain Calm in a Crisis...

I was driving earlier this week, minding my own business, well below the speed limit. I was traveling westbound on a freeway interchange and planning to merge into the freeway with the other traffic. Out of the blue, an ass in a pick-up truck came barreling onto the interchange from the eastbound lanes..if he were not as ass, he would have merged into the lane behind me. Well, he came right at me..to the side and began to push me to the left..far. Fast. I swerved into the freeway, through the median, and right into the side of another oncoming car. The other car and I (an old man in an SUV) were both traveling about 60 MPH. The truck did not yield to me (even with the horn honking) and continued cutting left, all the way over the fast lane without breaking once. I did not crash. Thank god, the old man was able to break and avoid hitting me. I had no choice except to swerve left and hope the idiot on the right did not hit me.

The old man and I both exited the freeway at the same exit and I pulled up to the passenger side of his car. He rolled down his window and I politely said, "THANK YOU. Thank you for not hitting me back there. I app...." He cut me off.

"You (I will sensor his comments) f-ing C---! You could have killed all three of us. You shouldn't be tailgating and speeding like that. You f-ing bitch!" I was shocked. Clearly because this upstanding old man had the story completely wrong. I yelled back.

"HE CAME INTO ME. HE WASN'T IN FRONT OF ME. HE CAME INTO MY LANE. FROM THE EASTBOUND LANE. HE CAME INTO MY LANE."

I took a poloroid of the incident:

"Well if you would have used you mirror, you could have avoided the entire thing! F-ing bitch!" I just stared at him. My mouth was probably open as it usually is when I can't understand how someone can be such a moron.

Why would I use my mirror to see someone who he claims was allegedly in front of me? Why would I swerve violently to the left to avoid hitting someone I was tailgating? Wouldn't I just apply the breaks? The old man continued to insist he saw the entire thing go down. He's totally wrong..but that's not why I am writing this.

I pulled off into a parking lot and cried. The only thing that the old man said that was right on the money is that THAT would have been a horrible accident. Solely because of the rate of speed the idiot truck that cut across was driving.

I don't get it. Did the man stereotype me and think that since I was a woman I am the bad driver? Did he assume I was 20 years old? (I have been hearing compliments that people think I look young. I'll take it.) What purpose did he have to call me names? Especially the 'C' word? The most serious part of this is what if there would have been an accident? The truck clearly came from the eastbound lanes..the police would have asked the driver that and because the old man had a different story that he saw with his own eyes, who would the jury believe? I go round and round with things like this in my head.

I think about he future every day. I know the economy sucks. I know people in general are under a lot of stress. I see that children are disrespectful and for the most part not growing up with the manners and common courtesy we were raised with.. I think about the future because I worry how far downhill everything will be by the time I get to the future.

Be nice. Be nice to people around you whether you know them or not. I don't know what happened to that man before he cussed me out for no reason, I don't care actually..it's not an excuse. I certainly didn't cuss out the employees at Staples when they didn't have my printer ink.... stay calm.

The world is a much better place when you're not yelling the 'C' word. And now for something completely different and much more pleasant...

Oh..and if you're still looking for a dose of Julification..here's another magazine on newsstands...the publisher tells me this one is almost sold out already! It. Is. Beautiful!