Exactly one month ago I wrote a Monday Message about timing. On Saturday, I lived that message.
My son, David, and I had a couple of Saturday morning pole inspection projects in Temecula. After picking him up in Rancho Santa Margarita, I suggested we take Ortega Highway because I hadn’t been that way in a long time, and scenery is really beautiful. My GPS would not pick up that route, so I asked my son to check his phone to see if Ortega Highway was open. He checked, it said it was, so off we went. Unfortunately, after 40 minutes and reaching the top of Ortega Highway, we came to a complete stop because there was a construction crew working on a bridge and a CHP Officer turning traffic around.
That was a mistake on my part, because when we first got on Ortega Highway, there was a sign that said, “Through traffic only”. It should have said, “No traffic only” and/or I should have heeded the warning, but for some reason I just kept going.
By the time we reached Temecula, we were more than an hour behind schedule. Fortunately, the first job went really well, so we made up some of the lost time. Unfortunately, as I was pushing my tool cart towards the last Light Pole in the Shopping Center, I saw a locked car, with a little boy inside. He could not have been more than 3 years old, and he was banging on the window at me. It was 75 degrees out and starting to get much warmer, and the little boy looked scared, which scared me!
I looked around for the parents and then checked the doors and the windows, but they were all closed and locked. I didn’t like what I saw, so I quickly headed to the nearest store to see if I could locate his parents. As I started inside the nail salon, a lady walked out of the coffee shop next door. I quickly asked her if that was her silver Honda in the parking lot and she smiled and said yes. I immediately responded with, “What the H… is wrong with you?!!!” There’s a toddler locked inside that hot car, and he was banging on the window for my help!” She laughed and said, “I was only gone for a few minutes”. That did it for me. I totally lost my cool and screamed at the woman, saying, “It’s not funny! There’s nothing funny about putting a child in danger - and you’re an idiot! Get that car opened up right now, and you’re lucky I don’t call the cops and report what you did!”
I was angry and I was harsh, but I don’t regret it. I think sometimes it’s okay to get angry. Especially if you need to get someone’s attention who is making a huge mistake and putting others in danger. And I’m pretty sure I got that lady’s attention in a big way, so hopefully she won’t make that mistake ever again.
Went I got home I asked my wife if she thought I did the right thing. She said, “You were in the right place, at the right time, and did the right thing. She must be right, because she’s no idiot!