Wednesday, May 9, 2012

And Down The Stretch I Come

I believe in Karma. As I pointed out in THE FEEDSTORE CHRONICLES the word karma is too new age for some folks but whether you describe it as "you reap what you sow," "an eye for an eye," or "you get what you give," I think most of us believe in the principal.

This past weekend I felt as if my karma was being tested.

It started Friday night. My son had soccer practice for his traveling team and we had a few other errands to run so it was nearing 9 PM by the time I pulled into our neighborhood Sonic Drive-In to feed my family.



Yeah I know, great parenting but just wait it gets worse. As I am ordering burgers and tots and foot long conies for my clan, a new Trans-am or Firebird or some other such car pulls up next to our minivan.


The vehicle is driven by a young, 17 or so, boy. His radio is thumping loudly with base. So much so that I cannot hear when the sonic guy asks me a question. I shoot the kid in the thumping car a look. he flashes a cocky grin and if anything turns up the radio even louder.

The Sonic guy repeats my order but all I hear is the last line. "Is your order correct?"

Casting an eye over at the Based Out Buffoon next to me, I say loudly, "I have no idea if that is correct because the kid next to me has his radio turned up way too loud!"

At this point the kid's buddies join him and feeling cocky he is bragging while grinning at me. "Hey guys come check out my stereo. Apparently it is really loud. I didn't know it was so loud. have you guys ever heard a radio this loud?

I heard enough so I backed the minivan up a few feet and stepped out of my vehicle. I had a few things I wanted to toss int he trash anyway and I wanted to let the mouthy little punk get a good long look at all 6 foot 5 inches and 290 pounds of me. Just to let him know it wasn't advantageous for him to continue flapping his gums.

Suddenly quiet the punk gave me a curt little nod as I passed by and according to my wife his buddy said, "Man that is a big dude once I strolled by on the way to dump my trash."

All I know is both they and their radios were silent from then on.

Then after soccer games Saturday morning and a bit of cinematography Saturday afternoon I stopped in Wal-Mart for a few items. Now I despise Wal-Mart but my wife loves Lime Salt for her beer that is only sold at Wal-Mart so like a dutiful husband I stopped there.

I carried my purchases which included a case of Shiner Bock and an 18 pack of Corona up the the counter.



The lady took one look and asked, "Do you live in a house or an apartment?"

Slightly taken aback I said," A house."

"Good," she said. " because I live in an apartment and I hate people like you who stay up all night drinking and being loud while I'm trying to sleep."

This impromptu rant rendered me speechless. A damn rare event I might add.

 So I drove away from the store pondering her anger and bitterness. For a little bit I even wondered if I had done something to deserve her scorn.

But only an hour or so later I was sipping one of those cold Shiner Bocks and watching the Kentucky Derby.



I was still pondering my karma's state when the horse I"LL HAVE ANOTHER galloped across the finish line. I'll HAVE ANOTHER for the win shouted the announcer and it was at that point I realized the bottle in my hand was now empty -- a sign if I've ever seen one. Yep, that gal at Wal-Mart was just plain crazy. Had she been right ROUSING SERMON would've taken the win rather than finishing 8th.

So I hoisted myself off the couch and proudly said, "Yep, I'll HAVE ANOTHER."


11 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Both those stories are great! Glad you triumphed! The Kentucky Derby was big big news in Canada this year because "I'll Have Another" is a Canadian horse. So you should drink some Canadian beer to celebrate, eh?

Mark Terry said...

Apparently she has some problem with beer drinkers, which makes me think she should move over to Utah or something.

Melissa Amateis said...

Oh, I wish I would have been there to see you shame that teenager into silence...

the walking man said...

Apparently the Wal-Mart workers are taking their frustrations with the Walton family out on their customers.

Travis I can so relate to the kid with the 30,000 watt amp and the 20 inch kickers. Imagine the same situation except not at a Sonic but in the driveway next to my house. See my 5'11" fat ass in my underwear (idiot woke me from my mid-day nap)screaming at the dumbass to turn it up louder because the windows in my house are only rattling not shattering.

I don't know if it was because he had never seen so much pasty pink skin before, a crazy old bastard yelling at him or simply he decided,like in your case, courtesy is better than being offensive.

Now though every time I go outside I think all the neighbors check to make sure i have my pants on so they don't have to hustle their kids inside.

PJD said...

Oh, that was a masterful finish.

verification words: optinki danda
Sounds like a Swedish pop group

J P Hannan said...

When you think about it you and the Wal-Mark lady had a lot in common. Both of you were being acoustically assaulted by inconsiderate jerks. The difference is that she ran her mouth off at the wrong guy whereas you showed the mouthy teen a glimpse of what he'd have to deal with if he didn't choose a different path.

I like your style Travis.

Eric said...

I completely agree with your choice of actions, but unfortunately I don't have the 6'5" to back it up LOL. I do have a perfected glare however, that manages to let punks like that know I'm not one to mess with. Good job, Travis!

Old Kitty said...

I'm glad you've grown to be a giant so you can shut those idiot boys up! Yay for you!

As for the lady in the store - oh well! Water under the bridge!!

Yay for winning!! take care
x

Charles Gramlich said...

A shame those teenagers had to be wowed by size and couldn't have just been decent. I guess that would make them super human.

Hilarious story.

Cloudia said...

we're all playing rolls in others' dramas we ain`t writ!


Warm Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

> < } } (°>

G. B. Miller said...

Reminds me of a scene from "Any Which Way But Loose" when one the Black Widows challenges Philo to a fight in a diner and Philo stands up from the booth.