Friday, November 09, 2007

A truly beautiful story

Today something so rare and so beautiful happened to me that i just have to share it with you.

I was driving in my car, headed straight through a light, when some person in a minivan shot over from the right turn only lane so she could get ahead of me at the intersection.

I swore at her, annoyed but impotent to do anything about it.

The next intersection was a four way stop sign, at which she failed to stop.

But wait, there was a cop sitting a little way back from the intersection, monitoring. I look over at the cop and think, "Oh please, oh please, oh please." The cop pulled out, lights blazing and stopped the minivan.

YES!

I passed the cop and the van pulled over on the right and looked right at the pinhead driving.

I smiled and waved.

I think i probably didn't use all of my fingers when i waved, but my smile was genuine and heartfelt.

41 comments:

Liv said...

What I love about you is that you have the ability to see the beauty in the little things.

TTQ said...

Karma will be bite ya everytime. Glad you didn't get road rage when she was being an asshole.

Em said...

YEA! I love it when the crappy drivers get caught!

thailandchani said...

LOL!!

Isn't justice wonderful?

amusing said...

I was once doing publicity for a book by a famous artist and dealing with a wanna be famous artist/hanger on who was "helping" the famous artist.

He launched into this longwinded explanation of the important work he had recently embarked on, using a particular process and then, condescendingly, he turned to me and said,"But you probably don't know what that is."

In one of those perfect, ideal moments, such as the one you describe with the awful driver getting nabbed, I was able to give the perfect technical definition of the process, its outcome, an example of a particular image by a certain photographer and then cap it off with a sweet smile.

That shut him up.

meno said...

liv, little? LITTLE? This was huge. I'm still smiling.

ttq, naw, no road rage, just some swearing.

Em, it was truly a wonderful moment. YOu know, instead of all those times when you ask, "where is a cop when you need one?"

chani, yes!

amusing, oh SNAP! and you were a ble to be your own cop, so to speak. Nicely done.

Anonymous said...

I love when there are more aggressive drivers than me on the road. I will always get out of the way for them to pass. It just means I will smile like you

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I love when this happens. And that you didn't waste any effort with four of your fingers.


I pray for this kind of justice every time I go out, but it rarely happens.

You are blessed.

Mother of Invention said...

oh that is so perfect! What goes around actually comes around sometimes!

jaded said...

Beautiful! I'm glad you were able to properly acknowledge the minivan driver without me to assist.

It's a good thing you leave in Seattle, here you would never experience that kind of gratification.

SUEB0B said...

Sweeeeet!

flutter said...

Oh the little things!

Girlplustwo said...

i stand humbled by the piercing beauty of this small moment in time.

meno said...

my pool, sometimes that works. heh heh.

hearts, far be it for me to waste effort. That it rarely happens made it all the sweeter.

moi, occasionaly, far too occcasionally.

patches, you could have helped by smiling with me.

suebob, you betcha!

flutter, a small, but happy event.

jen, somedays it all works out.

Biscotto said...

Sorry, my first comment is all about me.

I shrink a little when I see a cop car. I live in a city with a lot of crime. There are a lot of cop cars. I'll just never, ever feel the same about the police ever again. And, in case you are curious, I know exactly what the cop said when she rolled down her window. "Did you fail to stop at that stop sign?" He said it friendly, too, in a light-hearted way, to let her know that she was safe. If she is fool enough to tell the truth, it will be used against her.

Okay, now something for you. Fisher said something to me about my letting my kids have too many choices. This overwhelms them. As a parent, I need to limit their choices.

I immediately thought of Em and her college choices. I remembered being overwhelmed myself over the same.

Help her narrow her choices. I thought of this exercise, similar to what my career coach had me do last spring. Have her write two letters. One a year after college, describing to a friend how pleased she was with her choice of college, how it was ideal for her. Have her be specific. Two, a letter to a friend ten years after college, dscribing the positive effects, if any, her choice had on her life. Not just her career, mind you.

This might get at her goals for college and her expectations (academic, social, cultural, career preparation) much more than if you ask her to list them.

See, these will have her figure out where she wants to be, and how college will help her get there.

With this information, she can narrow and evaluate her choices.

Good advice? Yes or no? Ben said I was much too specific when I told him about some of my comments. He said he'd want to smack me if I told him some of these things. I said that I thought women were different, that we ask lots of people for advice and then sift through it for the bits that we think are useful or relevant. But sometimes I miss social cues and I think maybe I come across in cyberspace just as swkwardly as I do in person.

Biscotto said...

Um, would you really want to come to my trial? I mean, if you were going to buy a ticket and all and come out, maybe it would be possible.

But it is the week of Thanksgiving and a long way to travel and you never know if it won't get continued or something at the last minute.

And maybe I'd be too ordinary in person. Maybe Ben would be too humdrum and Romeo would be to skinny and the Ballerina would be nice and the Brunette would be sympathetic. Maybe the story is better as a story and not as a real life thing.

Angry Lab Rat said...

It happens so rarely, but isn't it satisfying with A-holes get what's coming to them? Ah, it makes the road-rage niche of my brain quiver with excitement just thinking about it!

Anonymous said...

Karma Police!

:D

peevish said...

effing awesome!

Anonymous said...

It was a beautiful story and sometimes, what goes around comes around.

AC said...

I experienced a similar incident once. Some souped up dude passed us on a dangerous curve--we aimed nastiness at his bumper. Up the road a ways, on an even more dangerous curve with a deep, deep ditch beside it, we saw the most beautiful sight...the dude's car was flat in the ditch. He was out of the car, all right, looking oh so surprised at his ending.

We cackled all the way home and to this day salute the ditch..the equivalent of a cop so far out in the country.

Anonymous said...

That is truly a beautiful story. I almost teared up.

meno said...

biscotto, i don't see cops as my friends either. I think that anyone who wants to be a cop shouldn't be allowed to be one. Because the kind of people who want to be cops can be scary. Your advice is welcome. As you say, i am able to read it, shift through it and take any of it that i like. Interacting on the internet, in writing, is much calmer for me than interacting in person. Your comments might annoy Ben, but they do not annoy me. Em is working through the college stuff with us and with friends, and with teachers that she loves. When we get to the point that she knows where she has been accepted, i may ask her to write these letters you suggest. As for traveling to see your trial. I would LOVE to, but i can't see it happening. Much of life is better as a story. And although i managed to weasel out of having T-Day ay my house, i still have to be here to help, dammit.

lab rat, This is actually the third time in my life that something like this has happened. My friend says i am a cop whisperer.

d-man, the karma police were not at the donut shop this time.

deb, not often enough, and rarely this immediately. HA!

ac, oh that is SWEET! I hope you waved as you passed.

goddess, i know! I am still boring everyone i know with the story today.

Lynn said...

Thank you for putting a smile on my face. Nothing like "instant Karma" to brighten one persons day, and ruin anothers.

Unknown said...

...and after giving the one-finger wave, Meno drove happily ever after.

Unknown said...

(humming)Instant karma's gonna get you...
YEA for you and thanks for sharing, we all need to hear about the a**hole tax finally being paid every once in a while.

Anonymous said...

I had a little orgasm when I read your story, I loved it so! And then doubled it up when I read AC's story! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear of bad (actually, SELFISH) drivers getting what's coming to them...

Mrs. Chili said...

So there is SOME justice in the world! I'm glad that happened for you, because it sure as hell ain't been happening for me!

luckyzmom said...

A dream come true this!!!! Happy dance, happy dance!!!!

QT said...

A moment of true beauty, indeed ~ glad to know that does happen!

Anonymous said...

HAH! Oh you are wonderful for sharing that story. It happens far too rarely for my taste.

Lynnea said...

Well that picked me up. Its tempting to actually park your car and get out and do a happy dance in front of the driver isn't it? Or stop and give the officer a hug.

meno said...

lynn, yep, karma caught up with her car that day.

nancy, you know how to write a wonderful ending.

wng, asshole tax. I like that. Think i'll steal it.

emily, it really was quite a thrill. Just delicious...

mrs.chili, maybe someday your karma fairies will return. I hope it's soon.

luckyzmom, I actually did do a little jig when i got home.

qt, it's rare, but all the sweeter for that.

irrelephant, oh how could i not share that much beauty?

maggie, I thiught about it, but decided, reluctantly, against it.

Anonymous said...

this makes me giggle, somewhat uncrontrollably

crazymumma said...

whooot whooot!

egan said...

Interesting, you wave with one finger eh? I like it. This is the kind of story that warms my heart very much.

Unknown said...

Oh, this makes me almost as happy as if I'd been the one waving while 'forgetting' to use all my fingers! :)

Jamie Willow said...

now that's a great story!

Anonymous said...

That was me, you bitch! Just kidding.

We saw an asshole driver get pulled over further along on the highway once and felt this same deep joy and satisfaction. Ahhh, nothing better than the jerk getting what's coming to him.

Linus said...

You think YOU enjoy it! I used to be a State Trooper, and let me tell you - pulling over the asshole is a blast. Especially when he claims it was entrapment. And resists signing. Then decides to put up a fight when you arrest him. Then gets all pissy when you "subdue" him...
Very satisfying, that.
:)

Anonymous said...

YAH.

I am so glad I stumbed onto your blog today! I'm loving it so far.

This kind of instant karma is great. I was once driving through icy rain on the interstate, fairly slowly of course, when a jackhole in a red sports car whizzed by and swerved back into my lane far too close in front of me (you know, to teach me a lesson about driving under the speed limit IN THE ICY RAIN). Then I watched as the rear end of his car slowly began sliding sideways...then the whole car sliding...then he went off into a grassy ditch and slid to a stop. I wouldn't have had any joy from that if he had collided with something or been hurt...but as it is, I did, very much.