A friend of mine has been having a problem with his brake pedal.
Occasionally, when he is away from the vehicle, the brake light turns on at whim.
Consequently, without warning, the battery may run down.
Last night, as he sat in his vehicle on Waring Street with the engine on charging the system, a woman strode up and tapped on his window.
When he rolled the tinted glass down, she issued a directive.
"You should turn your engine off. Air is coming out."
Obviously, the unexpected intruder was not very articulate. She probably meant to say "fumes", not air.
People are very quick to find fault or act on their own selfish self-serving interests without verifying the facts first.
If the woman had any intelligence worth shaking a stick at, she would have given the driver the benefit of the doubt.
Before assuming the worst - that my friend was an SUV monster inclined to pollute the environment, for instance - she should have considered the possibility that there was a legitimate reason for his actions.
Most motorists probably would have told the pesky interloper to take a hike in less than pleasant terms.
Instead, my friend calmly deal with the situation in a classy way.
"Thank you for bringing it to my attention," he responded politely.
"I appreciate it."
Gandhi would be proud!
The message for the day?
Think before you encroach on another person's rights - and in the process - avoid looking like a fool!
As a teacher once elucidated years ago:
"If we had more foresight than hindsight, we'd all be better off by a damn sight."
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