Post

Being present in life

Several years ago I was sitting in the WTAX Explorer in one of the drive-through lanes at a fast food restaurant in Springfield when the van in front of me suddenly began to roll back toward me. It was 1:30 in the afternoon – still a busy time for the lunch crowd in Springfield – and I had chosen the inside drive-through lane, so had nowhere to go to get away from the big powder blue van moving directly toward me. It all happened very quickly. I looked up, saw what was happening, and within a split second, the van had slammed into the front bumper of the company vehicle I was driving.

In that split second before the “crash” I looked around to see if there might be a way out. What I saw were several curious onlookers, watching from the comfort of their cars. It was a cold day, so windows were rolled up. They might not have heard or felt the van hit the SUV I was driving, but they saw it. I saw them watching.

The most amazing thing happened next. Before I had the chance to unfasten my seatbelt, the driver of the powder blue tank had jumped out of her van and was at my window. The red-faced woman was shaking her finger at me and threatening to sue.

“Excuse me?” I said, totally puzzled by this crazed woman outside my vehicle. I had yet to roll down my window.

She continued her diatribe for at least two minutes, which seemed more like twenty minutes to me. For a second, I experienced a flash of self-doubt. Perhaps I had let my foot slide off the brake. No, I remembered, I was in “Park.” Even if I had gunned the thing, it would have only revved the engine.

Once I gathered myself up and found my composure, I calmly told the woman that she had backed into me. I climbed out of the Explorer and walked to the front bumper. No marks on my vehicle. The van, however, was dented. I had not noticed the dent before the incident, but was not looking for it at that time.

By this time, there was no self-doubt and I was certain that this woman had, for some reason, intentionally or not, backed her big powder-blue van into the WTAX Explorer.

What happened next made me weak in the knees.

I looked up from my bumper to the people in the cars beside mine. Windows that had rolled down to hear the woman berate me were sliding back up again. I turned to the woman in the car beside me and mouthed “Did you see what happened?” She shook her head as she rolled up her window and turned away. I looked to the car in front, and the car behind, and received the same reaction. I stood in the drive-through lane and looked at all of those people who had witnessed the incident who chose not to be involved.

I climbed back into the Explorer and reached into my glove compartment for insurance information that I was sure my attacker would request. As the cars in the lane beside mine moved slowly ahead, a man in a sleek black car pulled into place alongside me. He rolled down his window about 6 inches. A hand with a business card reached out toward my passenger door. I hopped out of the SUV and walked toward the car. The window came down another 6 inches and a deep voice assured me, “I saw everything. Call me if you need help.”

I thanked him and took his card. My witness was an investigator for a federal agency. I almost skipped back to my SUV.

As I climbed back into the Explorer, the woman in the blue van suddenly appeared at my window, apologizing profusely. Apparently, she had been mistaken.

No kidding.

I made a promise to myself as I drove out of that fast-food parking lot and into traffic on one of Springfield’s busier streets. I would be “present” every day of my life. It’s easy to turn your back and walk away but being “present” is much more satisfying. Whether it is testifying when you are witness to a crime, speaking up for your industry, or simply exercising your opportunity to vote, being “present” is the right thing to do.