Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Why the Man Across the Street is Like a Grain of Rice
Today the man across the street was so in a rush to wherever he was going that he nosed his car between the car I was driving and a parked car, as if his car could suddenly turn on its side and propel itself through the two foot space, and I yelled out my window, “back up, back up” which he finally did, backing into the grill of our truck parked on the street, so I could turn my car into my driveway and then he sped away as if whatever business was calling him was the most dire on the entire planet and it made me wish I had a rifle in the house and was prone to taking violent action in response to outrageous acts of automobile primacy but then I would be like the folks who shoot people on freeways because they change lanes without signaling, chase them down the off ramp and into neighborhoods where people are barbecuing and minding their own business until they hear shots ring out, so yes, I understand sometimes how rage happens even though that’s not who I am, it’s not what I do, but the distance from here to there seems short, like a single grain of rice held between my fingers which is why I advocate keeping the guns out of the hands of everyone who is likely to become greatly mad.
_____________________________
Photo by Darío Méndez on Unsplash
7 Comments on “Why the Man Across the Street is Like a Grain of Rice”
Leave a Reply
Recent Comments
 | deborah wenzler farr… on The End of Mean Charlie |
 | Deb on The End of Mean Charlie |
 | beth on The End of Mean Charlie |
| beth on Old Beautiful Debts |
| beth on Sisterhood |
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
So that’s everyone, right?
I have been on both ends of this, the car end and the “I wish I had a gun” end, so many times it’s hard to count.
thanks for not be one of the violent ones
Let’s hear it for non-homicidal bloggers!
LOL!
I will say it, What an ass- not you Jan but the guy. Will you see him soon to ask him what he was in such a blasted hurry about, and to get compensation for repairs on your truck?
Yes, Jan has worked to get inside the heads of those who are committing so many of our acts of violence. It all starts with arming yourself with a gun. You are aware of all the danger out there, and you feel you must have a gun and take it everywhere to potentially protect yourself and your loved ones. But having that gun starts making you crazy, as you play out these scenarios in your head of how you might need to use it. Then a car full of similar people pulls up alongside (you don’t even need a fender bender), words are exchanged, the craziness meter in your head races to max, and soon everyone is shooting everyone. And as Jan says, it all starts with next-to-nothing. Check out the news reports on these incidents, and see how little is need to start them.
So, what to do? How exactly do you get the guns out of peoples’ hands? What we think of “gun control” isn’t enough. We need what I would call a “spiritual solution.” We need people I will call grandmas to work in an organized way to appeal to family members to voluntarily give up their guns and join a movement in which we can feel proud of being better people. Never happen? We can try. Or we can go on killing each other.