I went to south Hy Vee yesterday to get apples for the pie I made for tonights Babe Ruth fundraiser. When leaving, I turned west onto Quincy Avenue. There was some congestion caused by road work near the highway 34 intersection. Approaching the traffic lights at the mall entrance by Burger King, I stopped short of the intersection, even though I had a green light. It was one of those situations where the light would have changed to red, and I would have been sitting in the middle, blocking the intersection for cross traffic, who then would have had the green light. It was the polite thing for me to do. A few cars ahead of me moved forward allowing me to get through, and clear of the intersection. Several cars behind me also advanced forward, so as not to miss the green light. As I anticipated, the light changed. Cars stopped in the intersection behind me were now blocking the cross traffic creating a grid lock. No one could turn, and no one could go straight because cross traffic also pulled into the intersection in order that they would not miss their green light. Oh boy. This was a senecio where simple courtesy would have worked wonders. As I sat on the traffic tangled road, I put my window down to enjoy the fresh air. I noticed a grey Ford Taurus with Davis County plates, next to me in the east bound turning lane. Two ladies in the front seat were engrossed in conversation, perhaps talking about what they would buy at the mall today. What ever the subject was, a boy in the back seat seemed bored nearly to death by their conversation as he stared blankly into space. He appeared to be about 10 or 11 years old. He was wearing a yellow shirt, and had reddish blonde hair. He sat slumped down in his seat. I stared at him until I got his attention. Once he looked at me, I bent my right thumb back, touching it to the tip of my nose, pushing my nose upward to make that pig face. I raised my four fingers into the air, scrunched up my face, stuck out my tongue, crossed my eyes and began wiggling my fingers. He cracked a smile, sat up straight in his seat, and then returned my gesture. We both had a good laugh. I then looked at his driver, who paid no attention to me. I place a thumb to each side of my head, making moose antlers, extending all my finger outward. I again contorted my face, stuck out my tongue, crossed my eyes and wiggled my fingers while tilting my head back and forth. He began laughing. His laughter seemed to interrupt the ladies conversation, the driver looked at me. I quickly lowered my hands and tried to resume a normal, innocent stature, but it was too late. She caught me making faces at her. The look on her face was one of puzzlement. What had she done to provoke me? The boy in the back seat was still laughing. With my window open, I brought my index finger to my temple, making a circling motion and said, I think your mom is crazy. Mom started laughing, the girl in the front passenger seat started laughing. The boy in the back seat was still laughing, and I had to laugh as well. We all had a good laugh together right there in the traffic jam. A few cars ahead of me advanced forward, allowing me to move forward as well. I waved goodbye to the boy and the two ladies. The few cars that were blocking the intersection behind me, also moved forward. A courteous driver back at the light stopped short of the intersection, even though he now had a green light, allowing the other motorist blocking the way, to make their turns, clearing the congested, grid locked road. I suppose during the blockage, some of the other drivers and I could have opted to get angry, honked our horns, perhaps cussed a bit, maybe even flipped the bird, to some of the less considerate drivers. I dont know what all the other drivers did, but as for me and the people in the grey Ford Taurus, we opted to use our time enjoying a good laugh with strangers who found themselves caught in the same situation. Life gives us situations, not all of them are pleasant. How we deal with those moments, is a choice. Choose well and have a good day, my friends.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:05:33 +0000
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