I could have died on more than one occasion that day. The first instance was when I was on my way home from a job interview. While at a stop sign waiting for traffic to clear so that I could make a left hand turn, I noticed I was slowly rolling forward toward the moving cars. I already had my break pedal pressed to the floor as far as it could go, but my car rolled forward anyway, despite my attempt to stop it. My instinct was to immediately turn the car to the right instead, pull to the side of the road and use my emergency break.
Blessing #1: Despite my breaks failing, I, nor anyone else for that matter, got hurt. Now, just so you know what you're about to get into, I'm giving you a heads up that this is one of those, "it's what you make of it, through the eye of the beholder, seeing the glass half empty versus half full" kind of message - in essence.
I decided to play it safe and call road side assistance to have my car towed to a shop. The truck arrived surprisingly quick. I was given an ice cold bottle of water and waited in the nice air conditioned cab while my car was being hooked up. Now, you have to realize that this is Los Angeles in July during a drought and I had been denied the privilege of having air conditioning in my apartment (Long story.). The air in this tow truck was great so I couldn't really find anything to complain about there. Through my AAA membership, I get 7 miles of free towing. Distance to the shop: 7 miles. So I got free towing too. Things could be worse.
Total wait time for my car to be fixed was around three hours. The battery on my phone was very low so I decided not to use it in case I had trouble and needed it on the way home. This forced me to be patient and present; no luxury of talking or texting anyone to help pass the time.
Lucky for me, I was feeling patient and optimistic that day. No matter who you are though, this can change in an instant-and it did-but I'll get to that later. The office at the garage had big windows and a great view of the mountains. After about an hour of patiently gazing around, I realized I hadn't eaten anything in a while so I ventured across the street to this hole-in-the-wall of a deli. I had a mean pastrami sandwich with leftovers to boot. When I decided to head back to the garage, I decided to help myself to one of those free frappucino drinks they had available in their cooler. I had been craving coffee all day so this really hit the spot. I took my drink and went for a walk down the street. I really missed that; just being able to take a walk, enjoy the views and clear my head. It's not safe enough to really do this around the neighborhood where I live now so it was nice to go for a walk again and feel safe.
It would be ideal to just kind of wrap things up here, to tell you to always look on the bright side of things and that if you look for it, things aren't as bad as they seem. I do think this is important, so I don't want to dismiss it entirely. I could have easily complained and felt miserable during this whole process. I mean, I had to tow my car, I had to wait at least three hours for them to fix it, it cost me pretty penny, I couldn't really use my phone, I didn't bring a book to read, etc., etc... The point is, I could have just sat and pouted, but I found things to be grateful for. Now remember how I said things could change in an instant? Let me tell you about the ride home...
Once I took my exit to go home, I decided to make a detour to the grocery store. I waited at one of the stop lights and there was this old, green car directly in front of me. Two guys from off the street approached this car. One of them reached inside the car and started hitting the guy who was sitting in the passenger seat. The driver gets out and him and these guys start pushing each other around. One of the guys from off the street then lifts his shirt to reveal his gun as a threat to the driver. A girl enters the scene and manages to convince the guys from the street to "let it go" and the driver gets back in his car and the whole situation is then alleviated.
...In a strange way I am reminded of the time I was recently the first car stopped for a parade on Hollywood Boulevard. I had a front row seat and although I was stopped against my will and would then be late for a class, I made the most of it and just sat back and enjoyed the parade as it passed by me... This however, wasn't quite the same; I didn't want a front row seat to this show.
Once upon a time, as in only about two and a half months ago, this kind of thing wasn't normal for me. I admit, my life has been a bit sheltered, so when I see someone with a gun with the intention of hurting someone else with it, I was a little shaken. In the moment though, I wasn't scared at all. That's the strange part. My initial reaction was to lock my doors and slide down low in my seat. It wasn't something I consciously thought about, I was just on "autopilot". Once the near gang fight - or whatever that was - dispersed and I drove away, then the realization of what just happened is when I got scared.
That's not quite everything that went south that evening. After I got my groceries I was at another stop light. After sitting there a while, my break pedal sank all the way down and once it was floored, my car began to roll toward the other car in front of me. I pumped the breaks a little and this stopped the car long enough to buy me a little more time. Luckily, the light turned green shortly after and at the end a long day, I managed to make it home alive.
I had to go back to the shop the next day and spend twice as much money to fix the "real problem" with my breaks. Although I took a hit financially, I am grateful I didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else. Thinking back to when I was stopped behind that green car for all that time, I find it a miracle that my car didn't decide to roll forward then. Would if it did and I hit that car? Would if I almost hit the guy with the gun and he decided to retaliate and turn it on me? The events of that day instilled a bit of extra paranoia, but with a small cocktail to calm the nerves and just "sleeping it off", I think I am myself again. Then again, I think experiencing certain things throughout our lives does change who we are, just a little. After all this, I almost forgot that at the job interview I was hired on the spot. After months of struggling to get work, I finally had a job!
Around the time this all took place I had listened to a sermon from my preacher back in Kentucky (since I can no longer attend my church in person, I get the sermons sent to my inbox). He always gives a thought for the week and it was this: "Practice being a Christian this week. God will give you the opportunity to practice, it's up to you to do the practicing." I feel this applies perfectly. When we're put in difficult situations, it can be tough to view them as opportunities, but they are. They're a test of character. How you deal with a tough situation is what really matters. The beautiful thing is that we can continue to practice, meaning that difficult situations will continue to arise but we can improve with how we deal with it each time. I have had practice over the years and am learning to be more patient. I thought I did well at first, but then life threw a curve ball and challenged me in a new way. Next time you're dealing with an unpleasant situation, I challenge you to practice looking at it in a new light. For every bad thing, try coming up with something you're grateful for. Sometimes when you're along for the ride you need to stop and evaluate how you're viewing the world. So make sure your breaks work!
