Friday, April 13, 2007

The Explanation

Mo suggested recently that I could reduce my frustration at stupid people by liberally flipping them off. While I wish my perfect moral standards prevented me from taking his advice, there's a less admirable reason.

One afternoon when I was seventeen I was driving with the car windows down. The horn of the vehicle behind me sounded a couple of times. Wondering who had the nerve to honk at me when I wasn't going too slow or playing my music too loud, I extended my left arm out the window and gave the person behind me the bird without even looking up.

As I reached an intersection at which I needed to turn left, the car behind me passed slowly on the right so I could see the rude person who had honked. I don't recall what I was expecting to see, but I vividly recall the feeling in my stomach when I realized who it was. The honker was someone I knew well. A member of my ward. An older gentleman who I home taught. He was also the Stake Patriarch. Turns out he was just honking as a greeting.

At the intersection he looked far more hurt and disappointed than offended. We never discussed the event.

I'm sure there's a primary or young men's lesson in there somewhere. All I know is that my bird-flipping mechanism broke that day.

5 Comments:

Blogger Mumsy said...

Ouch. I gave someone I knew the "Westchester" one time. I'll show you what it is, I'm sure you've seen it before--not because you are a bad driver or anything, just because everyone else is.

April 17, 2007  
Blogger Mo said...

Daniel, many thanks for the hearty laugh. It is crystal clear now. I have had a few similar experiences (never involving the patriarch) so all I can say is you must try to re-hab.

Oh and thanks for the spam

April 17, 2007  
Blogger Jenni said...

Hearty laugh is an understatement here, I think Mo almost wet his pants, he was laughing so hard. That is the best one I have heard, hard to top that one!

April 18, 2007  
Blogger Denise said...

Just curious babe, was this before or after he gave you your patriarchal blessing? Because that sure would explain a lot to me. Tribe of Dinah?

April 18, 2007  
Blogger liz said...

that's pretty funny.

May 21, 2007  

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