A couple nights ago, I spent a few hours with friends celebrating their anniversary. They were having wine and I had only water. The dinner was lovely and the conversation joyful and humorous. We laughed and traded quips.

Prior to dinner, three of us read aloud from our current book, Eat Cake, Be Brave by Melissa Radke. It is an interesting book. She has led quite a life. Our little group picks a book (mostly spiritual in nature) and over the course of weekly get-togethers, read and discuss the book. We went for a lighter one this time and have had some laughs along the way.

As the evening drew to a close we said our good byes and got into our cars. I backed out of the driveway and proceeded to head home. It is not a particularly well lighted area nor is it rural, just not a lot of street lights. The few houses fully decorated with Christmas lights did cast some extra light though.

I reached the corner where I signaled to turn right. This is a busy street that I would be entering. No traffic light at this corner. The street onto which I would be turning had 3 lanes. My intention was to get into the middle lane as I planned to turn left in a few blocks. I saw a break in the traffic. The middle lane was clear but the furthest right lane had a motorcyclist. I guess I misjudged the speed the motorcyclist was traveling because . . .

As he passed me he began to yell, curse and give me that ‘universal one finger wave’! Oh My God, I recognized the guy! It is my neighbor! I got so upset. I pulled over into an empty parking lot AND for my next trick . . . proceeded to throw up into the nearby bushes.

Immediately thoughts of the phone call 8 years before telling me that my son had been in an accident. He was going to be okay but his Harley was totaled. WHAT?

My son was on his motorcycle when a car made an illegal left turn right in front of him. His memory was that he slammed into the car and was propelled over the car and felt as if he was being cradled as he landed on his back and slid across the pavement.

I believe that his father and grandmother protected him. He wore a full face helmet, leather jacket and special pants when he road his motorcycle. The helmet with all of its protection saved his head and face and the leathers did their jobs. He hasn’t been on a motorcycle since. His words, “You don’t aways get a second chance.” He had some injuries but nothing major, thank goodness.

I thought of how I felt when I got that call. My stomach continued to roil and protest as I sat in my car.I stayed in that parking lot for awhile, getting my nerves under control. I drove the rest of the way home slowly and acutely aware.

My question to you is . . .

What would you do next?

Go next door and apologize?

Just forget about the incident?

Confront my neighbor and give him the ‘universal one finger wave’ in return?

I polled a few people and the consensus was to forget about it.

What did I do, you wonder.

Well, my refrigerator stopped working the next morning and the repairman needed to order a part that would take an extra day to arrive. I figured the things in the fridge were okay for awhile. I disposed of the ice in the ice bin and in the freezer before leaving for the day.

When I got home, I cleaned out the fridge and freezer. I had some wonderful frozen chicken and a new package of Angus beef hamburger patties. After putting the other stuff in the trashcan and rolling the can out to the curb for trash day, I took the frozen stuff over to my neighbor’s house.

When his wife answered, I explained about my freezer and we chatted a bit. I then said, “I want to give you a hug and tell you that if your husband told you about a ‘dumbass driver in a black car’ that caused him a bit of a scare, it was ME! Will you tell him that I’m sorry?”

I told her how I reacted and that I was still upset.

The next thing I know, I got a text from him. He apologized for his anger.

I guess it isn’t everyday that a driver apologizes to a motorcyclist.

Be Safe Out There Everyone

Frances Graziano Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved