A pot on simmer

Those of you who know me and those of you who know me through this blog know that I try really hard to be calm.  I try really hard to see the other person's point of view.  I try really hard to not put bad karma in the universe.

I'm not myself lately.  The tension in America as we lead up to the presidential election has me on edge too.  I am like a pot on simmer, and it takes very little until I hit my boiling point.

It happened earlier today.  I'd like to tell you all about it.

My husband and I had just started our walk.  When we leave our house, we have a decision to make.  We can walk up on the levee and walk through the grass to the paved path, or we can walk around the block to where the paved path crosses the levee.  We decided to walk on the sidewalk around the block to the paved path.

As we approached the corner, there was a pumper truck working on the water system, so the sidewalk was blocked, and my husband and I were walking in the street.  Here is where the ugly starts.

Walking away from the levee is an man in his sixties, carrying a small dog.  My husband and I see this man regularly.  He has a small spaniel type dog.  He always carries a bag and picks up behind his dog if the dog goes to the bathroom.  If the little dog gets tired, the man picks up the dog and carries him home.  I don't know the man's name or the dog's name, but we say "hello" in passing.  The man and the dog seem like very nice creatures who try to cause no harm.

The man starts to cross the street carrying his dog.  A black BMW stops at the stop sign, on the street parallel to the levee.  As the man is almost across the street, the BMW turns the corner, heading right behind the man, and beeps the horn.

I lose it.  I run up to the car yelling "What is wrong with you?"  The woman rolls down her window and says "What are you talking about?"  I yell (I know I should have stopped yelling)  "Where in the world do you have to be that is so important that you can't let this man and his dog cross the street without beeping your horn at him?"  She replies "There is something wrong with you.  I beeped because he was right in front of me."  Now the man says,"I was just trying to cross the street, you didn't have to beep."  I turn to him and say "I'm sorry sir that you had to experience this.  That was just rude to beep at you."

I shouldn't have yelled.  I should have calmly explained that the rule of a four way stop sign is that you wait until the path you need to take with your vehicle is free from vehicular and pedestrian traffic before you proceed.  I should have pointed out that she failed to use her blinker, and was on the wrong side of the road when she made her turn.  I should have told her that there is nothing wrong with me, unless you think there is something wrong with anyone who will stand up to a bully on behalf of another person.

Because the action of beeping your horn at someone instead of waiting your turn is bullying.  And I can't not call out people who bully.  Because someone has to.

I don't know if that woman thought she was being a bully.  I don't know why she just didn't wait until the man cleared the intersection.  I would never beep at a pedestrian unless they were about to put themselves in harm's way.

That man didn't put himself in harm's way, he was merely trying to cross the street, and could not use the sidewalk path because it was blocked by the pumper truck.

The driver of the BMW created potential harm for him by not waiting until the intersection was clear.

I wish I would have handled myself better.  But I'm not sorry I confronted her.  I forgot the principle rule though.  Never argue with a fool, because people might not be able to tell the difference.  I don't know that woman, but I feel like I tried to argue with a fool.  Or that I tried to show what reasonable people think to an unreasonable person.

I need to let it go.   I am trying to let it go.  I'll be glad when this election season is over.  Maybe then I can cool down and be more like myself again.