I'm not sure what to make of this woman I encountered today while in Walmart today. It started with me noticing that her daughter, maybe 8 or 9, was in the cart, throwing her weight over to lift the back wheels off the floor to make room for a store employee to get by with his aluminum cart. That's my generous assumption anyway, or more likely she was just screwing around like kids do, with her mother not paying attention. Anyway, the girl was leaning the cart out of the way and she had four fingers gripping the outside of the cart. Well, she was one step away from having all her fingers broken if any one of several things happened, things that I just knew could have gone wrong, things that I just intuitively spot before they even register in my mind. And she was still tilting the cart, so I politely stepped in to warn the mother of the danger, explaining what had happened and how close a call it had been. Now some parents get pissed for meddling, but mellow when whatever the danger was had passed. I've become very good at doing this very diplomatically.
Well mom did get pissy because I was a guy in a dress, and this was way more important than having a child who could have been crippled for life. A few choice words were exchanged, and contact was broken. (I never imagined I'd be called a C**T! But I'll never stand back when someone is in danger of being hurt badly. (I once put my car across the front of a P/U with a horse trailer, twice, to get her to stop because her brakes were on fire. Saved two horses that day.) It's just how I am.
The important thing for me was I didn't care what she thought of me, and this proved that I had indeed learned the lesson of The Honey Badger because he don't give a shit about what others think of him, even when they say it right to me. I even feel sorry for her as she put her hate into words and I still feel good about me, my actions, AND my dress. I just pray that her daughter's remain safe in spite of her hatred.
I feel that I've grown so much and I am proud of myself. Who knew I'd find this kind of peace at 64! I had to get it down on paper (so to speak) while it was fresh in my mind. Thanks for letting me share!!