Today the strangest thing happened. On my way to the bakery this morning for my tea and muffin and puzzle time, I was almost run over by a car. They proceeded to honk at me, like I was the one out of line. I gave them a rude gesture, not my finest moment, and walked in to the bakery as they sped off down the road.

That should have been the end of it. I ordered my tea and muffin, waited to pay and sit down with them, and take the wrapper off my muff and begin my morning puzzles.

That’s when the driver stormed into the bakery, sat down, and proceeded to tell me that if I walked across the street like that again, I’d be killed, and if I gave that gesture again, she’d do worse. Reader, this pushing-50 year old driver had five minutes to drive down the street, turn around, find parking, walk to the bakery, and sit down and threaten me, with witnesses.

I was a little shaken, I’ll be honest - someone who does this is clearly not in complete control of their faculties. But mostly? I was amazed. This person could have been on their way, with me a bad memory in the morning. They could have gone a little way, realized they were too angry to think clearly, taken a breath and moved on with their day. They could have continued to fume at me having the audacity to legally walk in a crosswalk and get in their way all day, but still be about their business. Why come back? Was their ego so fragile, their entitlement so blinding, that one person was enough to make them threaten other people with their car and in person?

I’ve been pretty upset at work as of late. I’ve been blamed for things I didn’t do, and had people I thought better of act miserably and manipulatively. I’ve had my speech disorder used against me, in meetings and outside. But I’ve never felt the need or desire to act as this woman did. And I hope I never do. If I ever even get close to that, I hope I realize it and take it as a sign to take a detour, calm down, and reassess.

And while I doubt I’ll ever come across this woman again, if I do, I’ll definitely pull out my phone and start recording.