By reason of sanity!!
I was driving my grandchildren to school this morning when we came up behind a school bus. We were all surprised because we never encounter this bus, ever? Assuming it must be late this morning, I wondered out loud if it was going to our school. Right about this time the bus lights came on, and it slowed down for a stop. Of course we came to a safe stop well to the rear of the bus. Colby at this point confirmed that the bus was one of ours, as he seen one of his friends getting on at that stop.
So we waited patiently until the kids were all on, and the driver pulled the stop sign in, and had clearly turned the flashing lights off. He/she then paused for a moment as they often do to allow traffic to pass. I pulled out enough to check traffic, and identifying the other lane as clear, proceeded to pass the bus. I never even got to the back end of the bus when whoops.....someone, an adult,walked out from the front of the bus to cross the road!! Although it startled me, there was never any danger to anyone as I was barely moving and at least 30 feet from this woman. I was momentarily annoyed that she made such a careless move, but I forgave her immediately when she gave me a little wave in acknowledgment of her faux-pas.
Or so I thought.
She seemed to want to talk to me, so I pulled up and rolled down my window. She was fumbling with something and it took me a minute to realize she was taking pictures of my car. She went to great lengths to demonstrate that she was getting a picture of my license plate, and she accompanied this photo session with a stream of invective about her 3 children whos' lives I was endangering by my reckless behaviour. I tried to get a word in edgewise but it was futile. Because the kids were with me I kept my cool, and finally just drove away. By this time, the kids I was endangering were a kilometer up the road!
Just to confirm what I believed to be the rule I checked the MTO site, and indeed, the flashing lights, and the stop sign are the parameters by which you must decide to stop or go. It clearly states, "Do not move until the bus moves or the lights have stopped flashing". That is exactly what I did! And I did it slowly and with caution!!
It never occurred to me at the time but I now suspect this is her normal routine. She was way to ready to catch someone doing something wrong. I only wish that I had the presence of mind to haul out my phone and start taking pictures of her.
The frustration I felt all day gets me wondering what it must be like for people who are wrongly accused of serious crimes. It seems so often now that you read about someone who has spent years in jail for rape or murder, only to be exonerated by newer techniques, most notably DNA testing. How does one survive the horrible indignity of being put in a cage for something you were not guilty of??
And back to my accuser for a moment. I think what burns my ass more than anything is the blind arrogance that came with the accusation. Her moral superiority gave her the privilege of not having to listen to a word from me. I wonder if she would have taken the same haughty approach if she knew that one of her 3 children spent yesterday afternoon playing in my basement?! Yah! I'm sure that she had no idea that her son was at Colby's party yesterday, where we made sure to keep him safe for the duration thereof!!
As pissed off as I am about that mad mother, I think I'm even angrier with myself. As I made clear right from the start of this post, I unequivocally, categorically deny any wrongdoing, either legally or morally. That being said, why have I let it bug me all damn day?? Someone please explain!
But on to more important things. I did delay my workout a bit while I calmed down, but eventually got on my bike. I was quite nervous about my ribs, but quite confident that if I could get past that, I would have a good ride. It was test day, and after not having done much for the last 6 days I should have lots of legs. Neither of those things materialized. I found that with my ribs well wrapped, and as long as I stayed sitting up I could ride without too much discomfort. I also found that either I wasn't as fresh as I thought I should feel, or perhaps I was even rusty?
All in all I got through it without any real pain, other than in my legs and my lungs. And while slower than I hoped, I gained 10 watts from my initial test. I finished the 30 minutes test portion at 197 watts.
Thanks Roo, John, and Elly for your support. It's really nice to know that you've all done stupider things than me, and as a result are all well qualified to give me good guidance. Tomorrow I swill try everything else...run, swim, weights. I'll be content if I can run!! The rest will keep if necessary.
Computrainer test ride, 197 watts
“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind”---William Shakespeare
I was driving my grandchildren to school this morning when we came up behind a school bus. We were all surprised because we never encounter this bus, ever? Assuming it must be late this morning, I wondered out loud if it was going to our school. Right about this time the bus lights came on, and it slowed down for a stop. Of course we came to a safe stop well to the rear of the bus. Colby at this point confirmed that the bus was one of ours, as he seen one of his friends getting on at that stop.
So we waited patiently until the kids were all on, and the driver pulled the stop sign in, and had clearly turned the flashing lights off. He/she then paused for a moment as they often do to allow traffic to pass. I pulled out enough to check traffic, and identifying the other lane as clear, proceeded to pass the bus. I never even got to the back end of the bus when whoops.....someone, an adult,walked out from the front of the bus to cross the road!! Although it startled me, there was never any danger to anyone as I was barely moving and at least 30 feet from this woman. I was momentarily annoyed that she made such a careless move, but I forgave her immediately when she gave me a little wave in acknowledgment of her faux-pas.
Or so I thought.
She seemed to want to talk to me, so I pulled up and rolled down my window. She was fumbling with something and it took me a minute to realize she was taking pictures of my car. She went to great lengths to demonstrate that she was getting a picture of my license plate, and she accompanied this photo session with a stream of invective about her 3 children whos' lives I was endangering by my reckless behaviour. I tried to get a word in edgewise but it was futile. Because the kids were with me I kept my cool, and finally just drove away. By this time, the kids I was endangering were a kilometer up the road!
Just to confirm what I believed to be the rule I checked the MTO site, and indeed, the flashing lights, and the stop sign are the parameters by which you must decide to stop or go. It clearly states, "Do not move until the bus moves or the lights have stopped flashing". That is exactly what I did! And I did it slowly and with caution!!
It never occurred to me at the time but I now suspect this is her normal routine. She was way to ready to catch someone doing something wrong. I only wish that I had the presence of mind to haul out my phone and start taking pictures of her.
The frustration I felt all day gets me wondering what it must be like for people who are wrongly accused of serious crimes. It seems so often now that you read about someone who has spent years in jail for rape or murder, only to be exonerated by newer techniques, most notably DNA testing. How does one survive the horrible indignity of being put in a cage for something you were not guilty of??
And back to my accuser for a moment. I think what burns my ass more than anything is the blind arrogance that came with the accusation. Her moral superiority gave her the privilege of not having to listen to a word from me. I wonder if she would have taken the same haughty approach if she knew that one of her 3 children spent yesterday afternoon playing in my basement?! Yah! I'm sure that she had no idea that her son was at Colby's party yesterday, where we made sure to keep him safe for the duration thereof!!
As pissed off as I am about that mad mother, I think I'm even angrier with myself. As I made clear right from the start of this post, I unequivocally, categorically deny any wrongdoing, either legally or morally. That being said, why have I let it bug me all damn day?? Someone please explain!
But on to more important things. I did delay my workout a bit while I calmed down, but eventually got on my bike. I was quite nervous about my ribs, but quite confident that if I could get past that, I would have a good ride. It was test day, and after not having done much for the last 6 days I should have lots of legs. Neither of those things materialized. I found that with my ribs well wrapped, and as long as I stayed sitting up I could ride without too much discomfort. I also found that either I wasn't as fresh as I thought I should feel, or perhaps I was even rusty?
All in all I got through it without any real pain, other than in my legs and my lungs. And while slower than I hoped, I gained 10 watts from my initial test. I finished the 30 minutes test portion at 197 watts.
Thanks Roo, John, and Elly for your support. It's really nice to know that you've all done stupider things than me, and as a result are all well qualified to give me good guidance. Tomorrow I swill try everything else...run, swim, weights. I'll be content if I can run!! The rest will keep if necessary.
Computrainer test ride, 197 watts
“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind”---William Shakespeare
Love
Peter
Like father like son - I'm exactly like you. I will feel a pang for the entire day when I feel someone has wronged me by something they have said - I usually regret that I didn't say anything in return in my defence, because I'm too much of a non-confrontational guy in the moment.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in reference to the morally indignant woman:
"There is perhaps no phenomenon which contains so much destructive feelings as “moral indignation,” which permits envy or hate to be acted out under the guise of virtue. The “indignant” person has for once the satisfaction of despising and treating a creature as “inferior,” coupled with the feeling of his own superiority and rightness." - Erich Fromm
So, she can go screw herself! And try not to let her bring you down - though I know the feeling all too well.
Love,
Michael
Pete, just so proud of you for being a good role model for your grandkids in that moment. I don't know if I could of! Proud of you for that.
ReplyDelete@MIchael….Amen to your response. Love your quote too!
tag on Mike and Roo. As my new friend says, keep your chin up and a grin on, and give her the peace sign!
ReplyDeletebeen there, done that .. almost....I lost my cool, big time...you are, as I keep saying, an amazing guy!
ReplyDeletelove,
gail