I feel bad for a wrong that I'd done earlier in the day. My misdemeanour was the cause of angst - albeit momentarily - for the traffic cop on duty. And here I must reiterate that he was a damn decent guy unlike some of the nasty ones - are they really so? Aren't we to blame for their boorish behaviour? They're doing their duty and while doing so, bearing the brunt of the weather, an occasional snap is all but human because some of us, errant motorists, can really drive them crazy. My story highlights such a misstep that I could have easily avoided and as I punch in these thoughts, I sincerely send my apologies yet again to that gentleman cop for having caused him anguish.
I was driving my Chevy on one of the side roads and endeavouring to turn right, to join the main arterial road. The cop had just stopped the ingress of vehicles into the side road that I was in and had given the go ahead for the resumption of traffic on the arterial road. Due to the queue of vehicles making into the side road, there was a delay in the resumption of the flow of traffic and sensing it to be advantageous, I'd quickly swung right and guided my vehicle into the intended direction! And at that split moment, the regular flow had resumed and I just managed to clear the first vehicle by a whisker - I'd acted smart you see and was pleased as Punch for having pulled off this great(?) feat.
It was then that I saw the exasperated traffic policeman showing off a helpless gesture saying that if motorists disobeyed him, how would he be able to do an effective job. I was ashamed and conveyed my genuine regrets to him before scooting away from the scene.
I felt like kicking my shin for my unpardonable behaviour and the feeling of regret had persisted for quite a while. The very fact that I'm punching in those feelings underscores that they continue to persist! And to make matters worse, the 'helpless' visage of the cop continues to haunt.
He's a thorough gentleman! And I, a bad citizen!!
Tailpiece.
The counter point that I was trying to make was that I was reducing his worries by taking advantage of a favourable situation. But the argument falls flat, if all motorists were to take advantage of the favourable situations as perceived by them causing confusion galore!
I was driving my Chevy on one of the side roads and endeavouring to turn right, to join the main arterial road. The cop had just stopped the ingress of vehicles into the side road that I was in and had given the go ahead for the resumption of traffic on the arterial road. Due to the queue of vehicles making into the side road, there was a delay in the resumption of the flow of traffic and sensing it to be advantageous, I'd quickly swung right and guided my vehicle into the intended direction! And at that split moment, the regular flow had resumed and I just managed to clear the first vehicle by a whisker - I'd acted smart you see and was pleased as Punch for having pulled off this great(?) feat.
It was then that I saw the exasperated traffic policeman showing off a helpless gesture saying that if motorists disobeyed him, how would he be able to do an effective job. I was ashamed and conveyed my genuine regrets to him before scooting away from the scene.
I felt like kicking my shin for my unpardonable behaviour and the feeling of regret had persisted for quite a while. The very fact that I'm punching in those feelings underscores that they continue to persist! And to make matters worse, the 'helpless' visage of the cop continues to haunt.
He's a thorough gentleman! And I, a bad citizen!!
Tailpiece.
The counter point that I was trying to make was that I was reducing his worries by taking advantage of a favourable situation. But the argument falls flat, if all motorists were to take advantage of the favourable situations as perceived by them causing confusion galore!
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