“On Seeing a Fight over a Parking Space and Missing a Sunset”
“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
~ Proverbs 29:11
A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
~ Proverbs 19:11
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
~ Proverbs 15:1
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
~ Proverbs 15:18” (From the site https://naturallivingfamily.com/bible-verses-about-anger/?ad_id=526051405341&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9O2v24WW9QIVzebjBx3dXgQSEAAYASAAEgI2FvD_BwE, accessed 01-03-2022)
My sweetheart and I went to Siesta Key Beach to watch the sunset yesterday. She saw the sunset. I watched a verbal battle that I hope didn’t turn into physical violence.
We left in plenty of time to see the sunset. Unfortunately, we did not leave in plenty of time to find a parking space. It was Sunday, the end of New Years weekend. Siesta Key Beach is beautiful, and lots of people love to watch the sunset there. Factor in also my tendency to crazy way overestimate what I can do in a little time, and you have a perfect storm of a missed sunset.
We did get to the beach about half-an-hour before sunset. (Well, okay, so maybe it was only twenty minutes before sunset.) After cruising around looking for a place, I told my sweetheart to get out and go watch the sunset. “And take some pictures!” I suggested. I wasn’t aggravated. For me, this was a major step in the right direction. Perhaps every step in the right direction is major.
As I cruised around waiting for someone to leave, an unfortunate and unnecessary drama unfolded. Two different vehicles were trying to pull into the same space at the same time. Fermions cannot occupy the same space at the same time. That’s a law of physics. There is no getting around it.
Guys are especially likely to turn everything into a competition. Competitive parking spaces is a particularly ugly sport. I moved on when the competition was still at the trash-talking stage. I hope that sanity eventually prevailed.
Here is the sobering thought for me: Until quite recently I was chronically irritating myself with non-issues like parking spots. Notice how I worded this. I was “. . . chronically irritating myself with non-issues . . . .” I was irritating myself. It was an inside job. Of course, I also irritated a lot of other people along the way as well.
So, the sun set without me there to see it. And it was lovely. And me? I enjoyed cruising around the parking lot at Siesta Key Beach.
However, next time, I’m going to leave at 10 in the morning. I should be able to find a parking space that way.
Recent Comments