Friday, September 13, 2013
Readers who suffer from triskaidekaphobia would tell me that I shouldn't even have been riding on this day, but I am neither cowardly nor superstitious.
At 6:28PM, I was about to cross King at James with the green light when a car zoomed through the intersection against the red light on King - This Idiot #1. I yelled an imprecation, and then another at the car behind him, who did the EXACT SAME thing - This Idiot #2.
I shook my head and took a deep breath to help clear the adrenaline rush from my narrow escapes. I was about to continue on my way, thankful to be alive and in one piece when I thought: "No."
I decided, instead, to change course and see if I could catch up to them, if for no other reason than to record their license plates. Sure enough, I could and I did, but I'm not going to publish them, for reasons I will make clear later. What I will provide, however, is a transcript of the conversation that followed.
They both turned into the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant on the corner of Logan and King, and I waited for them to disembark. Five women in dresses emerged from both sides of each vehicle until the young, male drivers made their appearance.
I asked: "So what do red lights mean to you guys?"
This Idiot #2: "Yeah, I'm sorry - I didn't notice it."
Me: "You didn't notice a red. Light?"
TI2: "I'm sorry."
Me: "Thank you."
This Idiot #1: "I'm sorry, sir."
Me: "Thank you for your apology."
TI1: (motioning with his arm) "Yeah, because the sun-"
Me: "Please be more careful in the future."
TI1: "Yeah, sorry, sir."
Me: "Have a nice evening."
TH1: "(unintelligible) I saw you."
Me: "Fortunately, I saw you, too."
That was it; a 20-second conversation with no histrionics, no name-calling, no yelling, no violence - actual or implied - on my part or theirs.
They were wrong; I confronted them; they apologized, and there was no need to take it any further, so I'm not editing and uploading a video or publishing their license plates for all to see.
We can't help being idiots. Everyone will slip into a state of idiocy at some point, but we can all choose whether we are going to be polite or rude about it.
These guys got it.
