It’s 7:20 a.m. on a Monday morning and I’m opening the drawbridge for a sailboat. Traffic is backed up for a half mile in either direction. Joggers are jogging in place at the gates, and a few are giving me dirty looks. Horns are honking. Then the sailboat radios in to ask why the bridge is taking so long to open. I reply that the bridge is old, and even the best of us take a while to get moving on these cold mornings. Oddly enough, that really is true. Whether he believes it or not, it seems to mollify him, at least for now.
Once the bridge is opened, the sailboat seems to take his sweet time going through. Once he does, though, I close the bridge as quickly as possible and reopen to traffic. Several cars make a point of honking their horns when they pass, and I know that for a brief moment, I’m the most cursed person in town.
Come on, people. The average bridge opening takes LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES! And if you KNOW you’re crossing a drawbridge or a train track or anything that will potentially cause you a delay, you need to ALLOW for that! Joggers? Same response to you, only I’d probably add, “get over your skinny little self” at the end of it. And the sailboat? Nothing reminds me more of Marvin Martian than an impatient person on a sailboat. Such impotent, self imposed rage. Sheesh. I can’t imagine having a life that’s so important that a simple 5 minute delay causes such a disproportionate amount of irritation.
Then I notice I’m tapping my foot.
I guess we’re all works in progress.
The View from a Drawbridge 
Off to a great start!
Thanks Vicky! I’m enjoying this, and learning a lot.
People who are impatient really pokes at my delicate nerves. I’ve worked retail for little over 4 years now and one thing i’ve notice is the amount of people on “a schedule” that doesn’t fit the means of obstacles that get in the way of their schedules. I do agree, I get that way some times driving home wanting nothing more than my car to fly through it all. However, what in the world are people mad about? The fact that there are a lot of OTHER people in the world that are on “schedules” as well? I totally agree with you, accommodate yourself for the worse ESP. when it comes to sailboats. I barely make it on time to work leaving 30 mins before my scheduled time (oh and did I mention I live like literally 10 mins away from work?). You keep from fools getting hurt and ensuring that each person is accounted for. Doing your job like everyone else and doing it well! ❤ -Tini
Yeah, Martine, I think impatient people lack perspective, but clearly ALL of us lack that perspective at one point or another. What I plan to work on, although I’m not quite sure how to do it, is broadening my perspective if possible. Reminding myself, for example, that that annoying person in line in front of me at the grocery store who is taking her sweet time putting her items on the counter, may have her reasons. I think it was you who said something like this the other day, wise girl that you are: You don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s life. We all have our stories. I can’t say I’m the poster child for patience, but I intend to work on it! ❤
It is all about what I call Road Rage. Be it in a car or waiting for a bridge, it is all the same.
Patience is a virtue that few of us command all the time. But try we must for it isn’t worth getting all upset about. What, it will take an extra five minutes out of your life!!!
There’s an old Spanish saying: “Better to lose a minute of your life than your life in a minute.” I have to remind myself of that sometimes.