Last week I was in the post office parking lot, gathering my packages together in my car when I heard a big crunch. I looked out my rear window and saw that two cars had backed up opposite each other at the same time and Crunch! Both drivers appeared to be middle age women. One car moved and re-parked next to the other car. The women then got out of their cars and started to exchange information.
Here is what is missing in this story; No yelling, no accusatory actions or loud words. I wonder if these women just thought, “Today is not going well”. Are they so resolved that things are going badly, what with the economy and such that this was just one more thing to pile it on? I was surprised. I knew if I was involved I would be yelling, carrying on, even if it was my fault.
Recently during a down pour on a very gloomy late afternoon, I was backing my car out of a parking spot at a grocery store. I really did not see the car in the aisle. I almost backed into it before I stopped. The driver of the car had stopped. I pulled back into my parking spot and the other car drove off. No accident occurred but I was mad. Why didn’t the driver beep me with his horn? A horn would have alerted me. I drive a Mini Cooper, which is an itsy bitsy car. The other car was a big SUV. Obviously my car would have suffered more damage if we had a collision. I am acknowledging that I have responsibility advancing into the traffic of the parking lot, but doesn’t the other driver have the responsibility to alert me too?
I told my stories to a friend and she admitted that she doesn’t use her horn and in the same situation would act like the women at post office, no fuss, just an exchange of information. No one was hurt so why cause a scene and make a fuss?
This was not a unique reaction to just this one friend, others had the same response. My question is; Am I too dramatic? I use my horn all the time. If people flip me off, I don’t care. I use the horn if some one is drifting into my lane, pulling out of a parking spot, or picnicking at a red light or stop sign.
I want to know about others. Do you use your horn? If you got into an accident how would you react? Can we blame it on the economy? Have the women in the post office parking lot transcended to a higher level?
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