Peter wrote, “So if life means so much, why do you drive as you do?”
His unsolicited email went unanswered over the weekend as I pondered the author’s choice of ‘as’ over ‘like’ and prepared a grammarians rebuttal. But to be honest and fair, his email to me was honest and fair. I’d never met Peter before, but he was neither mean nor rude and there was no attack on my character thoughI knew this would happen some day. Promote your website on your rear window and at some point you’re gonna get feedback. This time it was about my driving habits, not my stories.
“You sped down Rainbow today and cut me off before your near sudden stop behind a white truck with no taillights.” Sadly, he was increasingly correct as I struggled to escape the culpability of his descriptions.
Every sentence erected another shameful memorial to my horrible driving until I was left sitting there reading Peter’s tirades like a chained prisoner without attorney deserving the chair.
Finally, I replied:
‘Dear Peter,
You caught me red handed. Yes, I was on Rainbow today and yes your description of my driving sounds remarkably accurate. While I am fighting the urge to explain, excuse and defend myself against your accusations, those days have been over for me for many years. So, I am sorry. Please accept my apology for cutting you off and endangering the entire Rainbow Blvd. contingent today. Putting my website #LifeMeansSoMuch.com on my rear window begs for greater accountability on my part and I didn’t live up to it today. I will endeavor to improve my driving from here on out.
Sincerely, Don Miller
P.S. The truck was blue not white.