The Last Hurrah and A Reminder (to myself)

I took nine kids to the beach this past Saturday for one last day of summer. 

We went to Jennings Beach again.

We took the paddle boards and the bikes and the scooters and skateboard and spikeball and we packed firewood and stuff to make s’mores.

We knew we wanted to stay all day.

The kids had a great time.

It really was the perfect last day of summer.

And it only further solidified my lifelong dream to own a beach house.

I love the beach so much.

But there was one little incident.

There are some gorgeous houses on the water in Fairfield.

I’ve always dreamed of having a home at Compo Beach, but the Jennings Beach area in Fairfield might be even better as far as the overall beach experience. 

It’s such a nice area to ride bikes.

I asked my parents if they wanted to go for a bike ride.

We took a nice, leisurely ride down the road that parallels the beach.

As we were riding, we came upon a man running.

I’m going to estimate he as in his mid sixties.

It was hot out, and he was near the end of his run and he ws definitely tired.

My dad doesn’t quite understand runners’ etiquette.

He also loves to talk to people. He just really loves people.

So this dude is borderline shuffling down the road, a road full of multi-million dollar homes, one of which he lives in, and my dad decides to start a conversation with him.

My dad doesn’t know any better, but most runners are kind of in a zone and don’t want to take out their headphones to talk to you at any point during their run, but especially at the end when they are visibly uncomfortable.

Jokingly, my dad told The Guy to pick up the pace. 

The Guy was annoyed and took out his headphones.

“What?” he said.

My dad jokingly (and innocently) repeated the same thing. Pick up the pace.

The Guy did not like that.

He totally snapped.

“YOU WANNA RACE MOTHERFUCKER?!?!?” he yelled at my dad.

And then he started sprinting.

He sprinted for a good 1/4 mile.

My dad wears hearing aids and I’m not sure he even heard what The Guy said, but he did say to me, “That guy got a little hot under the collar.”

And then he kept leisurely riding his bike.

We were riding so slowly The Guy ran ahead of us.

Eventually The Guy stopped running and we were awkwardly passing him on the other side of the road.

And then he said, “What’s a matter? You can’t take it?”

It was very uncomfortable.

We turned around and headed back toward the beach.

This interaction with The Guy put a little black spot on the day.

Maybe I don’t want to dream about a beach house in Fairfield if this is what happens to you when you move here.

And then I caught myself.

I don’t know this dude.

I don’t know what triggered that reaction from him.

But something did.

I try to presume competence from people at all times.

I also believe people are doing their best.

 And just because one person on that road in Fairfield is a jerk doesn’t mean everyone on that road in Fairfield is a jerk.

Also, just cause The Guy acted like a big weiner on Saturday, it doesn’t mean he’s a douchebag.

Maybe he had a rough day. Maybe he had received some horrible news earlier.

Maybe his wife cheated on him with a really fast runner. 😂

Who knows why he snapped.

Maybe the guy is a total douchebag in general.

But it is possible he was just having a bad day.

I’ve had plenty of days where I’ve reacted and wished I could have a do-over. 

Ultimately, The Guy’s reaction wasn’t about my dad anyway.

It was about himself.

I hope The Guy is a good guy who was just having a crap day.

And just like I don’t want to be summed up in my worst moments, I’m reminding myself not to do that to other people.

But just to be safe, the next time I go for a bike ride with my dad, we might need to set some ground rules. 

NO TALKING TO RUNNERS.

And if we ever go for a ride at Jennings Beach again, I think maybe we’ll play it really safe and be sure to ride our bikes in the opposite direction.