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diff --git a/src/md/22_The_Volkswagen_that_Couldnt.md b/src/md/22_The_Volkswagen_that_Couldnt.md deleted file mode 100644 index 7203a6d..0000000 --- a/src/md/22_The_Volkswagen_that_Couldnt.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,57 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: The Volkswagen that Couldn't ---- - -1978 - -Shortly after my wife and I were married, we decided to drive to Canada -to visit her parents. We were still starving students and had to make -the trip in my wife's orange Volkswagen Beetle. The route required us to -cross through a few mountain ranges somewhere in Montana. On this -occasion, my wife was driving. We were following a big freight truck as -we began to climb up a steep mountain. The truck began to slow down as -the hill became steeper. This stretch of highway had only two lanes. -Thus, the only way to get by the big truck was to pass him on the left. - -There was another car behind us. We both grew impatient to get around -the slow moving truck, but the on-coming traffic was too heavy. The -minutes of waiting for an opportunity to pass the truck became -agonizing. The tension and the stress were building. Finally, a gap in -the on-coming traffic presented our best chance to pass the truck. Lori -pulled the beetle into the left lane and put the pedal to the metal. To -our great dismay, the Volkswagen did not surge forward with a burst of -speed as hoped. One quarter mile ahead, another vehicle was speeding -toward us in the left lane. Our poor little Volkswagen was not making -much progress getting around that truck. The situation was getting very -tense. - -Meanwhile, the car that had been behind us pulled up nearer to the -truck, making it impossible for us to move back into the right lane to -avoid a head-on collision. Now, we were both truly frightened. The -Volkswagen was not going to get around the truck in time. Lori took the -only option left. She braked hard to allow the truck and the car behind -it to move ahead. We slipped back into the right lane and out of harm's -way just as the on-coming car flew by with its horn blowing. - -I will never forget the expression on the face of the driver of the car -that had been behind us. As we were braking to get back into the right -lane, I could clearly see a look of amusement as he sped ahead on the -right. I will never know if his actions that day were deliberate, but in -my heightened state of distress, I assumed he had intentionally placed -our lives in danger just so he could have a good chuckle. - -For the next 20 or 30 minutes, I was silently fuming. I entertained all -manner of grisly methods of exacting revenge on this pathetic excuse for -a human being. My fantasies involved the use of weapons such as sledge -hammers, machetes and double barreled shotguns. I was so consumed by my -anger and indignation that I could not rationally analyze what was -happening to me. At length, I finally realized that I was only -prolonging my mental anguish by feeding my rage with thoughts of -revenge. Finally, after a long time, I was able to listen to the still, -small voice inside me. That voice told me that the only way to become -triumphant in this situation was to adopt a spirit of forgiveness. Then, -and only then, was my personal peace restored. - -In retrospect, that driver did me a great favor that day. He helped me -learn a valuable lesson early in life that has served me well ever -since. |