My Memorable Moment Speech i gave. got counted off for no eye contact...but that was about it.
For some inexplicable reason, I seem to attract crazy people. If I told you all of my encounters it would take too long. So today I’m not going to tell you about the recent mid-life crises woman on the road, or the man at the Pillar concert who felt he had to tell me about his hatred of the symbol on my shirt, but about the encounter that I had when Katie was in my company. I believe that was the first time I’ve ever seen Katie get scared.
It happened on a hot majestic day in the summer of 2008. Katie and I had decided to go buy some rope to put up a swing -random, I know, but look who I‘m talking about-. And let me say, I’m a little perturbed no one said anything to us when we went and asked the woman to cut us off about 10 feet of rope, and then let us buy it. I mean what exactly are two teenage girls going to do with 10 feet of thick rope?
I was driving on this wondrous day, and had decided to take the new back way home. Because I took this way, I came upon the intersections that some man had obviously devised. Right over on the side of a slope is a stop light- too many accidents have happened here to count, because some idiot decided, hey, -a hill- lets put a light up so nobody will see it until its too late. And hey since there’s a second light that’s only 24 feet away lets make two lanes so that only one of them you can go straight through. I’m sure people will realize one’s a turning lane further up and won’t get confused and try to get in the other lane causing accidents. But no, a man did it. And since there’s been so many accidents the light is always almost green. So if your going the other direction you’re going to be sitting at a red light for a veeeery long time.
Me and Katie had luckily made it through the first light without incident. The second light was looming ahead, but some man in a white truck- yes I remember what he was driving, I think it was a chevy Silverado to be exact- he was one of those confused people and tried to get in my lane while I was still in it. I did honk at the man, but he did not stop. So instead of slamming on by breaks causing an accident from behind I swerved a little to the right hand turning lane then came back over. Well, the light had turned red. The white truck that had nearly hit me was in front. All of a sudden I see the driver’s door open. I thought gross, this man is a dipper, -but no- the man gets out of his truck. He walks back a little bit and says something, I shake my head and ask Katie what he said. Katie?--well Katie was starting to freak out right about now. I turn back and see the man walking a little closer. I had many thoughts running through my head, one of them being ‘what is this guy going to do when the light turns green?’ and then a picture of mace runs through my head, and then I realize there‘s a car beside me and I pray somebody would take action if needed. Hoping to deter his process to my window I opened it-not all the way mind you- and yelled ‘what?’ at him. ‘Did you honk at me?’ he asked. I stared at him frozen not able to comprehend that this guy got out of his truck at a red light and asked me if I honked at him. ‘Did you honk at me?’ he asked again. ‘…Yes’ I replied giving him my best you’re the craziest person I’ve ever met look. ‘Why?’ he continued. I glance at Katie and she’s still frozen. Katie is not a person I want around me if I’m ever held hostage. I look back at the man who looks truly concerned. They say crazy people don’t really know that they’re crazy. I think he’s one of them. ‘You were getting in my lane,’ I replied. ‘No I wasn’t, you were turning,’ he said. That’s when I started questioning my sanity, was I planning on turning? Did I put my blinker on? No, he was about to hit me before I swerved into the turning lane. In answer I looked at him like he was an idiot for about 5 seconds which made him return to his truck. I looked back over at Katie-who was still frozen.
The light turned green soon after and it was a very quiet ride back home. I was trying to figure out this man. I’m not for sure what made him turn around and get back in his truck, I like to think that it was my amazing glaring skills. Whatever it was, I’m glad he left. But I don’t know what was going on in Katie’s head.
Why do crazy people always seem to make themselves known whenever I’m around? That I cannot answer. What I do know is that if I keep having confrontations with crazy people at the rate I’m going, I need to invest in some mace, or a taser would be cool.