Anger Management
I often hear some people say, “I got so angry; I lost control and didn’t know what I was doing.” I often wondered what that would be like. I am a patient person, who has never lost control when I became angry. I have always had total awareness of my situation. In the movie “Angry Management,” Jack Nicholson so nicely stated: “Your temper is one thing you can’t get rid of by losing it.” I’ve probably came close at times, but never gone over the edge to uncontrollable rage.
I remember there was one time it came close to me losing it. It happened one late Sunday afternoon. My friend Asmine and I was sitting in her car patiently waiting for the next available gas pump. It was hot, really hot! The temperature was still over the century mark. The way the sun was beating down on us reminded me of when I was a young girl using my magnifying glass on helpless crawling insects. I was dripping wet with sweat and every part of my body ached. I was so exhausted from the sun and water from the beach we went to that weekend, I could hardly move.
A gentleman mentioned to us that he had finished getting his gas and was about to leave. Asmine got the pump number and went into the store to pay for the gas. As the car pulled away, I began to pull Asmine’s car up to the pump. When all of a sudden, this van comes screeching around from the opposite direction, trying to get to the pump before me. I stepped on the gas and the driver of the van slammed on his brakes. I continued until I was just inches from his bumper. I made sure I was close enough for the hose to reach the tank.
The driver of the van was waving his hands, yelling, and eventually got out and started yelling at me; “Did you pay for this pump?” “Yes, my friend is in the store paying for it now” I replied. He pauses a moment and then starts up again. “You almost hit my van. You didn’t have to come so close.” I paid him no mind. Then I looked and said, “It’s hot out here and I’ve been waiting...