One night, it irked me that someone was driving too slowly.
"Why is this driver lollygagging?" I said to myself. "Why is this taking so long? What reason could this person possibly have for driving so slowly?"
Actually, there might have been any number of good reasons. Maybe the driver wasn't used to driving at night. Perhaps the driver was new to the area and was unaccustomed to streets on which I've driven hundreds of times. Maybe the driver was heading to the hospital, apprehensive about a family member or friend's grim prognosis.
Before considering these possibilities, I said, again to myself, "I'm headed to work. I have a good reason to be on this road. What reason could this other driver possibly have?"
My mood brightened after saying that. My dad has told me that his father had a short fuse with other drivers. Sometimes, he swore at other drivers in Hungarian. He also declared that people wearing hats were stupid drivers--while wearing a hat himself. It was especially amusing, however, to learn that while driving on a rainy night, he exclaimed, "These fools! What are they doing out on a night when it's raining?" When his kids reminded him that he was also out on a rainy night, he retorted, "Yes, but I have a good reason!"
I was very young when my dad's father passed away, but realizing how much my irritation resembled his made me hope that he heard me and smiled in recognition.
