I was bullied when I was younger and it made me a lot tougher. It was all verbal and nothing ever got physical, so I guess I'm lucky on that behalf. That helped in enabling me to deal with sudden changes or when things got uncomfortable. You could say that, in an odd way, bullying helped me. With thick skin you can do a lot of things, such as keeping a clear head when the shit is about to hit the fan. No, I haven't seen it all, but things don't impress me like they do to others. Certain things do and certain things don't. I took a couple personality tests in college and one showed, clearly, that when things change rapidly I am in perfect harmony of three of the four factors that make up judgment in a given situation. Put simply, I am able to refrain from panicking, remain calm and think rationally in pressure situation. This ability assuredly helped me pitch at a high level. Speaking of pressure situations, guess what happened to me yesterday?
I was driving down back on 28 from North Reading after getting my oil changed. The latch that held my hood down was broken, and the guy having to use all of his might to open it for service did not help. If you have ever seen the movie Tommy Boy then you know exactly what this would have looked like. I was going about 50mph down 28, with two cars behind me, when my hood suddenly lifted and almost entirely blocked my view of the road. I could still see, barely, from the curvature of the nearest part of the hood to the driver (well, before the hood was up) that gave me about three inches to view what was in front of me. My rear-view mirrors were fine to see out of but I would much rather see in front then back. Honestly at the time I was more annoyed about having to pay for a new hood then anything else. They guy at the oil change place said I should get a new hood anyways. Well the safety bar being snapped from the hood rising so rapidly ensured his prediction. I called the place, could have called AAA, and they came out an used a couple coat hangers to latch it down until I got home. I wanted them to see it so I could assess whether they were liable or not.
In the photo I have provided you can clearly see the seam where the hood bent. Now imagine that whole thing covering the windshield. There is not much space to be seen where the curve is nearest the driver, that I was able to still see through when the hood lifted, (and I probably should have taken a picture before I got the hood replaced) but it is there.
I would like to know, what would you have done in a similar situation? Everyone I told the story to said they would have freaked out. I assume this means their outcome would have been different. My sister half scolded me for going that fast on 28 (In all honesty its a main drag and I was keeping pace with the traffic, so she can stick it) and I said back "Better there then the left lane of the highway going 80mph", which is true because I usually go fast in the left lane, as nature intended. If I had been on the highway I would most likely been less lucky or my car totaled by someone behind me. Also notice that in the title it says 'Saved the day' and not 'Saved my life'. There was no contact from any of the other cars, nor was there a sudden crash into the guard rail as I had to 'blindly' navigate a lane over to the parking lot of the restaurant I assessed the damage at. Anyone else would have embellished the story in one of a million directions, I chose not to.
Temperament has also made it that I tell stories that aren't half bullshit, as you hear often from people trying to make their story the biggest thing that has ever happened to them. If I am guilty of anything, I guess it would be that I tend to under sell things more often than not. My Dad always tells people that when I was a pitcher that I threw 90mph. If I am there when he says that I correct him by telling the other person that it was only 88mph. If something didn't happen, then it just didn't happen. There's no reason getting wound up about something that isn't worth it, or the honest truth for that matter.
Question or Comments? Let me know (although you never do).
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