A couple years ago a plain-clothes cop in an unmarked car pulled me over for veering into the breakdown lane right before the 128 North exit to 93. A guy in my 12-Step study group looks just like him, and for months I’ve wanted to ask if he was the one.
Mood music:
http://youtu.be/MoDbAd4fYBA
If this was indeed the guy, I wanted to make amends.
The thing is, I have a history of being a hothead on the road. I’m much tamer than I used to be, mainly because I’ve grown up a lot over the years. I’ve flipped people off, tailgated them, cut them off and shouted F-bombs at the top of my lungs when I took a wrong turn or ended up in a traffic jam.
As drivers go, I was an asshole of the highest order.
As I said, I’ve calmed down a lot, mostly because I no longer feel rushed to get from point A to B. Sometimes, I still do get a little anxious over the drive time, if one of the kids has a doctor’s appointment, for example. But most of the time these days, people blow past me because they think I’m driving too slowly.
More importantly, I’ve calmed down because with all the danger to be found on the road, I don’t want to be one more threat. I want to reach my destination safely, and I want everyone else to do the same.
Anyway, I’ve been staring at this guy in the 12-Step meeting wondering if he was the cop who pulled me over. If so, I wanted to apologize to him and acknowledge that I deserved a ticket that day. In fact, he was probably more lenient with me than he had to be, given my mouth that day.
I asked the fellow after last night’s meeting if he was a cop.
Alas, he was not the guy.
And so an opportunity to make amends was snuffed out.
That’s OK, though.
I think the best I can do to make amends is be a better driver. I think I’m making progress.
My family might not agree, however.
