So! Who's Responsible for this Mess?
Posted: Wednesday, October 13, 2010
by Donovan Baldwin
No Diet 4 Me
A few years ago, I was driving a big truck eastbound on I-40. I had just passed through Gallup, New Mexico, and had my cruise control set on the speed limit.
Not too surprisingly, another truck blew by me at a very high rate of speed. As he passed, I could see he was talking away into his CB microphone.
So, that's who it was!
Ever see the movie, "Big Trouble in Little China", with Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall?
Kurt Russell plays a big mouthed truck driver, Jack Burton, and whenever he's got the CB mike in his hand, he's telling the world everything that Jack Burton knows...or thinks he knows.
This guy reminded me of Jack Burton...only not as likeable.
Anyway, he blew my doors off and disappeared over a hill in the distance.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
I'd probably never see him again.
On second thought, I might. He and I might shut down at the same truck stop later that evening.
That happened pretty often. I would cruise calmly down the "big road" in my "large car" (a little trucker lingo to add color to this narrative), and somebody would blow by, breaking the speed limit and one or two other laws to be named later.
After all that effort and angst on their part, they and I would wind up at the same place at about the same time. Go figure!
Well, as I was contemplating these and other mysteries of life, I topped a rise. took a look at the scene before me, and laughed out loud.
There, ahead of me, on the right shoulder was "rocket mouth" receiving an award for safe driving, I am sure, from the local constabulary.
I continued on my way, feeling as if one small corner of the universe had been stabilized and purified.
A few minutes later, a familiar voice came out of the CB speaker. It was him again, and, by the growing strength of the signal, he was closing fast.
Sure enough, he soon blew by again, still jackin' his jaws. Same song, different chunk of road. However, by the time he passed me again, at a high rate of speed, of course, I had turned the CB off, but not before I heard his message.
According to him, he had just been tricked by a cop who had nothing better to do than pick on innocent truck drivers, like him, who weren't doin' nothin'....yada, yada, yada!
In almost every situation in life, positive or negative, there are several factors at play. Results are not always predictable, either. As the old saying goes, "Some days you eat the bear...some days the bear eats you."
Sometimes you wind up with one hell of a mess.
You and I cannot control every factor involved in the events which happen directly to us, or which indirectly influence things which eventually affect us. However, we usually do have some control over at least some of the factors involved.
It is very human to complain and blame fate, the gods, our genes, people of other religions or skin color, or whatever when things don't go the way we had hoped or expected.
Hey, I was in the army, I understand complaining!
But, if we have not exercised control over those things we can influence, part of the blame, at least, is ours.
Nobody likes to be on the losing end of things. Even with the best will and greatest efforts on our parts, things will not always turn out the way we wish.
However, if we have done our best to do what we can to achieve the best results, and yet things still go awry, then I guess we have a right to complain to the management and feel abused.
If we have not done all that we could have done, maybe we should just switch off the CB and keep our thoughts to ourselves, resolving to do better, or at least more, in the future.
That's just one of the mysteries of life I contemplated on that day a few years ago somewhere east of Gallup, New Mexico...and today, apparently.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Donovan Baldwin is a 65-year-old accountant, amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Atlanta, Gerogia area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has posted a series of articles on The Law of Attraction , and other self-improvement issues at xtramoney4me.net/internetmarketing/reviews/law_of_attraction_articles/index.html .
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Very well said
I had a moment's thrill when Mr. Big Mouth got what was coming to him! I really enjoyed your article, it's entertaining and very wise :)
Thanks to Jennifer and my anonymous friend who were kind enough to not only read my article but comment on it.
Very nicely done, sir.
Thank you, Fran & Michael
Hi Donovan.
I have something similar happen with speeders. For all their fussing and lane changing and passing of me and other vehicles, we frequently end up at the same traffic signal at the same time.
Beyond that, I do get the point of your article and agree with you wholeheartedly.
Hugs,
Dianne
Thank you, Dianne. About that lane changing stuff. Ever see four-wheelers (people driving cars) changing lanes when there's a traffic jam. Most of them have no idea WHY they are changing lanes. Many times, the truck drivers can see over the mess and we would watch them change into the blocked lane. It was "moving" because people were getting out of it. When people let them back in, that just held everybody up some more. The truck drivers are on the CB telling each other what is going on and which lane is open, sometimes a mile or two before the blockage and begin changing lanes early. See where they are heading to see which lane is going to be open.
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