Mean People Suck

This past Sunday was Day Two of the return of glorious spring weather in Austin. Yes, yes...we've needed the rain that we got in March in a serious way, but it was the 2nd wettest March in Austin. Ever. And even on the days it wasn't raining, it was gloomy as all hell. So when I woke up on Saturday and it was clear, cool, and SUNNY, I nearly skipped around the house with glee. Sunday it was an exact repeat of Saturday, except not quite as breezy and a bit warmer. Suffice it to say, it was gorgeous.

I took The Geej out to a celebratory lunch together. No, we didn't go to Luby's. We went to an actual restaurant with table service all by ourselves. One of the things that I love being able to do with her now is go out to eat. Back when she was 11 months old, I never would've DREAMED of going out to eat with her on my own. Too much "stuff" I had to take with me, and at that age, they can't be talked out of a meltdown or bribed into eating their whipped sweet potatoes. But now, it's different.

After our lunch, I decided to go drop off a bunch o' stuff at Goodwill and then to run my seriously nasty car through the automatic car wash near my house. I've lived near this place for 1.5 years, but I've never gone there. As you might expect, there was a line for the auto wash. The line extended down to a bay of car vacuums (2 of them) that were both in use. Then, on the other side of the vacuums, there was this man waiting in his Toyota Matrix. I pulled in behind him, but then as I observed for a minute or so I figured that he was waiting for the vacuum, and not the wash (due to the fact that both vacuumers were still in action and the position of his car). So I pulled around him and got in line for the auto wash.

Since it was so nice, I had my windows down. Next thing I know, this Cretin asstard pulls up beside me and YELLS, "You FUCKING WHORE!! What the FUCK do you think you're doing cutting in line?!"

He was a woefully unattractive mid-50s-ish man. Driving a Matrix. Yelling at a total (female) strangers like he was about to throw down and kick some serious ass.

I was startled to say the least. I yelled back, "I thought you were waiting for the vacuums!"

Him: "I was giving them space so they could pull out."
Me: "But they weren't pulling out any time soon, so I thought you were waiting. I'll move. And by the way, there's a TODDLER in my back seat, so you have NO business yelling at me like that!"
Him: "Just move your fucking car."

I hate to say it, but this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me in this great state whose motto is "Friendship." But that's a whole 'nother post, and it happened in Buda, so I can't say I'm really surprised.

But this. This happened on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in south Austin. There are few times that I can recall when I have felt either a) scared for my physical safety because I am a woman and/or b) pissed off because, if I weren't a woman, but instead a beefy, younger, testosterone-filled man, I would've forced that jackass to give me an apology and because I'm not, I couldn't. Instead all I could do was leave. So I peeled outta there, shaking with rage.

The Geej, having silently witnessed all this from her car seat finally said, "What's the matter, Mommy?"

Me: "That man said ugly words to us, so we left."
Her: "Who that man?"
Me: "I don't know. But when someone says ugly words to you, you can just walk away."
Her: "You went fast, Mommy."
Me: "I know, I'm sorry."
Her: "You spill my milk on me."
Me: "I'm sorry, baby."

God, what a turd I felt like. I should be the model of calmness and maturity for my daughter. But instead I peeled out like a high school sophomore, spilling her milk in the process.

Damn that asshole for ruining this perfectly lovely afternoon.

Fast forward to this morning. We were on our way to school. Our normal route takes us by this stupid car wash. Unprovoked, The Geej says, "That man said ugly words to us," as we passed it.

I replied that yes, he'd said ugly words, but that we drove away. Then she asked an unexpected question:

Her: "Where'd he go?"
Me: "That man?"
Her: "Yes. Where he go?"
Me: "Oh, he went home to his ugly wife and his ugly kids in his ugly house."
Her: (pensively) "Oh..."
Me: "Honey, we really don't need to worry about that man. Karma will get him."
Her: "Who Karma is?"
Me: "Karma's not a person. It's a thing. If you're nice and you love people and are kind to them, Karma will be nice to you and give you all kinds of gifts. But if you're mean and ugly like that man, then Karma will be mean to you and take all those gifts away."
Her: "But who Karma is?"
Me: (Realizing that explaining the concept of karma to a 2 1/2 yr. old probably isn't the best idea I've had this year) "Oh look, we're at school!"

Fast forward again to tonight. We're having dinner, and outta nowhere:

Her: "That man said ugly words to us."
Me: "Yes he did."
Her: "But we go away. You drived fast and spilt my milk."
Me: "Yes. That was an accident, and I'm sorry. But that's what you do when someone says things to you that aren't nice: you just walk away."
Her: "And Kermit will get you off the truck."
Me: "What?"
Her: "Kermit will get you."
Me: "Is that a movie you saw at Dah's house?" (My mom has waaaaaaaaay too many DVDs for The Geej to watch. Most of them are from the $2.99 bin at Wal-Mart and are total ass. But I have seen a Muppet DVD or two in her collection.)
Her: "Yes. And Kermit will be nice to you if you're nice. But if you're not nice, Kermit will get you."

So, yes. Thanks to the experience at the car wash yesterday and my subsequent reaction, my child has now confused Kermit the Frog with karma, and now thinks he's some sort of boogeyman for mean people.

Nice.