I'm now sitting at my local mainline station, waiting for the overnight train to appear, but just under an hour ago, I managed to get mixed up in something which has been quite some time in the making, one way and another.
My wife and I went to the coach station to meet our daughter, who's travelled back from her Finnish trip today. We got there ten minutes or so early, and were waiting with another pair of meeters and greeters when a couple of drunks decided to start mouthing off. Despite my best efforts, it didn't take too long before my threshold of tolerance was breached, when one of them decided it would be amusing to tell my wife to 'F*** off'. He found it less amusing, I suspect, to be up against a wall with my forearm across his throat, at which point the abuse ended. Luckily, for both of us, I guess, the coach turned up at that point, with nothing beyond intimidation required. I'm not proud of myself, not least because my wife hates anything like that, but I'm really not prepared to 'turn the other cheek' indefinitely in that kind of situation, especially I was pretty much forced to swallow my pride when all the trouble with the local youths around my old workplace kicked off last year. I'm afraid tonight's lowlife just picked the wrong target at the wrong time, but at least no-one was hurt, even if it was a close-run thing.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
Hi there, Sammy
ReplyDeleteI don't think you've done anything wrong: on the contrary, you've taught someone a useful and overdue lesson about appropriate behaviour in public places. I could wish it happened more often.
I hope you get a reasonable sleep on the overnight train: I've rarely had much success with them myself.
Take care
Mark
I hate physical confrontation, and fortunately, since I was once attacked in junior high school, I've managed to avoid it. But in a situation as you describe, I don't know where my limit is. I'm glad it didn't escalate, and that no one got hurt.
ReplyDeletePeace <3
Jay
Sometimes action is just necessary. I'm glad it didn't escalate.
ReplyDeleteHello Mark, Jay and Brian
ReplyDeleteWith the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to do what my wife wanted to do, and just walk away, but as I said to her at the time, that's letting the pondlife win. Oddly enough, I found it less stressful to act than I was finding it to listen to their drunken abuse - my heart rate actually went down when I collared the bloke - not, I hasten to add, that I've got any intention of making a habit of brawling. It could have been much messier, and I'm lucky it wasn't, so I'll do my best to go back to my generally laid back and non-confrontational self in future.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B
It's not what you do, but how you do it. And you did it the right way.
ReplyDelete-Joe.
Hello Joe
ReplyDeleteMorally, I feel I was justified in what I did, but, in practical terms, it could have blown up in my face. Still, all's well that ends well, to venture into cliche once again.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B
I'll vote for you too.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate the way you recount what happened it sounds OK but yes, I can see that the coach turning up probably stopped anything going any further and was therefore fortuitous.
Hello Micky
ReplyDeleteI don't know about OK, it probably shouldn't have happened at all, but as one or two people that my wife has mentioned the incident to have commented, it ended at an appropriate level - I made my point, and no-one was hurt.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B