A Christmas Shopping Tale

I wasn't sure if I should tell you this story or not because I was afraid my blogging friends would think I was a total witch. However, my family thinks this story is hilarious, and they encouraged me to retell it on my blog. Disclaimer: Please do not get the wrong idea about me. I promise I am not a witch-just a little grumpy sometimes! :)

I went for a little last minute Christmas shopping on Dec. 23. Athens was so crowded. However, I was filled with the Christmas spirit, so I didn't really mind my crowded surroundings. Obviously not everyone was filled with Christmas spirit though. I witnessed a woman get out of her car as she was exiting the Best Buy parking lot and violently cuss another woman. I'm sure what the other woman did, but whatever it was it made for a great show.

Anyway, back to my story. I was traveling down the Atlanta Highway (yes, the same one The B-52's headed down to look for their love get-away), and I was stopped at an intersection in which I wanted to make a left turn. Well, the red light turned to a green arrow, and everyone in front of me made the left turn. However, if I would have made the left turn I would have been stuck in the middle of the intersection blocking two lanes of traffic on a very busy and very major road. Instead of going and blocking the intersection (because I had no idea how long the light would stay green), I opted to stop where I was and wait for the road to clear to a point where I would not risk blocking the intersection when I turned.

Well, the guy behind me did not like this plan. He began honking and making rude gestures. He was throwing his hand up in the air and huffing. In other words, he was pitching a fit. I rolled down my window and pointed to the back up of traffic to show him that I could not go, but this did not help matters. Well, the traffic finally cleared enough for me to turn left, so I did just as the turn arrow turned yellow. Well, the guy behind me follows me up under the light and makes the left turn before the light turned red. However, this was not good enough for him. He was still pitching a fit. Now, I admit that I am not the best of drivers. In fact, I am the reason that there is a stereotype for women drivers. However, I knew better than to block a very busy intersection on an unusually busy day.

I shrug off the man's rude act, and I hop out of my car to go into Bed, Bath, and Beyond when guess who walks in ahead of me. That's right-the road rage man. Honestly, I wanted to kick him in the knee cap and call him an a**hole and explain to him how it is Christmas and he should be a little more patient, but I decide it wasn't the best approach. Instead, I calmly walked up to him while he was browsing, and said (in a very calm and sweet voice), "Excuse me sir. I just wanted to apologize for upsetting you at that intersection back there. I really didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want to turn and block the intersection because I was unsure of how long the turn light would stay green. Again, I am really sorry, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas."

He couldn't do anything but stutter. I guess he didn't realize I caught the full act of his fit pitching. He looked like he could have crawled under the display and died. I realize it was a little passive aggressive of me to do what I did, but boy was it fun!