Actually, it should be “Damn Everyone Else …”
Sometimes it’s not the other drivers who are the problem during the morning and evening commute.
As the weather warms (ever so slowly), there are now bicycles and pedestrians.
On my way home from work yesterday, I was sitting in a line of traffic at a red light in the northeast corner of our fair city. Not an especially good neighborhood, but not one where I expect to be accosted, either. Mine was the second vehicle back from the light, behind some kind of utility panel van. A group of young people (I would guess high schoolers) came walking down the street, and it appeared they were thinking about crossing between vehicles, so I made sure my foot was on the brake and I made eye contact. One of the young males then stepped between my vehicle and the one in front of me and walked to the next lane as if he was checking oncoming traffic. He made a show of peeking around the van in front of me and then turned to return to his friends. As he got back in front of my car (my foot was still firmly on that brake!), he deliberately threw himself against the right front bumper of my car and yelled “OWWWW!” – as if to make people think I had hit him. His friends laughed. He laughed and did a little jig. They all went on their way down the sidewalk.
The light changed. I drove on home.
Hopefully that’s the end of it. But there’s that nervous little twitter at the back of my mind insisting it was a ploy so that the young gentleman can later claim I did, in fact, hit him – and didn’t stop. It would have been very easy for his friends to take my license plate number. It would be my word against theirs, even though there are no marks on my vehicle (and probably no marks on the kid, unless he banged my car harder than I think he did.) It’s a predominantly black neighborhood, the kids were black, and I’m an old white lady driving a mid-sized SUV. Black kids or white kids – there’s a joker in every group, but there’s also a crackpot in every group. Should I be worried? Only time will tell.
It was a unsettling end to an otherwise peaceful four-day workweek.
TGIF, folks. Hope your evening commute is uneventful!
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
I would not worry too much about this. I would have honked real loud at them. I don;t care what color they are, it was inappropriate. Cars are a very touch subject for me right now. My hubby had a small accident a month ago. He rear ended someone who stopped unexpectedly and he hit them. Not hard enough to deploy the airbags but did enough damage….. to the tune of half the car cost of the car brand new. 5000 miles on it and it had to be rebuilt. CRAP!
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I was so focused on keeping my foot on that brake I didn’t even think about honking!
I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s accident. If they stopped suddenly, it’s mostly their fault. Not that it makes much difference when you still have to pay those repair bills.
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Crime comes in all shapes and sizes. One way or the other, they can find a way to get you. I hope nothing comes of it. It probably won’t unless he also has a criminal for a doctor.
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And a criminal for a lawyer. No shortage of either in this area, unfortunately.
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I feel uneasy if I’m stuck in traffic on my own in the car and there are young youths around. I lock the doors as it has been known for someone to open the door and steal the handbag on the passenger seat. I always have mine behind me or the strap is actually over the seat. I hope you don’t hear anything. We also have a dashcam now.
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A lot of people are getting dash cams these days, but I don’t have one yet. And unless I’m going to and from work, I generally don’t carry a purse. I just take my license & insurance cards along with whatever money I have or credit card I’ll use and stick them in my coat pocket. My coat has a breast pocket that zips, so they’d really have to work at it to get my money.
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When I’m walking the dog, I don’t carry a purse or bag as a rule. My pockets are pretty shallow anyway, so ideal for poo bags!
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🙂
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My understanding of how to handle this situation is to wash the car real good, including the underside. Then take it about 100 miles out of town and have a back alley auto body shop straighten out any dents and replace any broken lights. You might want to switch out the license plates before you have them do the work. After this, just wait it out. If you haven’t heard anything in about 6 months, you should be okay. Not speaking from experience, this is just my understanding.
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Ha! I’ve heard all that, too. Fortunately there are no dents or broken lights on the car, nor were there (that’s the actual car in the photo at the head of the post), and it’s already been washed. Can’t do anything about the license plate, though. I’ll just have to take my chances.
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I hope that you will not hear any more of this. After all he did do a little jig so you know he was fine. I think they were just being silly. Do you have a dash cam. They do make a difference as every thing is film. I have my fingers crossed that you hear no more.
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No, I don’t have a dash cam, and my camera was in my purse. I’m fairly certain it was just kids being kids, but it still made me a bit nervous once I thought about it.
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Yes I understand,try not to worry, what sort of world is it we live in that we have to worry all the time. 💜💜
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