The luckiest man alive
May 30, 2002 ~ 9:40 p.m.
I met the luckiest man alive today. He escaped my well-earned wrath. Lucky man indeed.
I met my wife after work and took the subway (that�s Underground to all my London friends) to Victoria. I had my arm around her shoulders and was tuning out on my headphones. I could truthfully have been said to be minding my own business and I was at relative peace with everyone around me.
Apparently, others weren�t. I noticed, in the reflection of the clear plastic windows of the sliding doors, a man behind me. I did not take much notice of him. His most dominant feature was the striped baseball cap on his head. He did not look aggressive.
As the subway train pulled into Victoria Station, his actions totally belied his looks. I felt him squeezing into me. At first, I didn�t even notice, I passed it off as him having lost his balance. It happens all the time on the Underground. However, he did not let up. He kept pressing in on me. Just as I turned around to ask him what his problem was, the doors to the train opened and I was literally pushed out onto the platform. I shook my head in disbelief, giving the man the few seconds he needed to put some distance between me and himself. We were separated by about fifteen other commuters and I was boiling mad.
�Don�t be so goddamn pushy,� I hollered at him. Then I called him something that I do not wish to repeat here.
No response. I was incredulous. My wife, even more incredulously, had missed the whole thing. She�s not very observant; this proved the point. I pointed at the guy, nearing the top of the steps and said, within definite earshot of him, �The problem is him, the dickhead in the striped cap!�
Still no response. �Yeah, I�m talking about you,� I called after him. �Turn around and face me, asshole!� I could see him going through the turnstiles, and I wasn�t far behind. But by the time I collected my ticket from the turnstile, he was nowhere to be seen. He�d suddenly been swept away by the crowd. He managed to slink off like the snivelling little bitch that he was.
I looked around frantically for him to no avail. I was shocked at how easily he disappeared after getting through that turnstile. I guarantee you this, if I�d caught up with him, I would have delivered a beating so swift, severe and punishing, he would have learned a lesson. And that lesson is, sometimes you have to pay for your actions. And I think that man � I use the word ever so lightly � knew what payment I had in store for him. I am not a violent guy, and I can walk away from a verbal insult; but no-one physically attacks me. Ever.
I find it hard to fathom how someone can be so aggressive yet cowardly at the same time. But all I know is that I had better not run into him ever again. Nightdragons never forget and they rarely forgive. And you, buddy in the striped cap, will not be among the forgiven.
You were very lucky this time. Pray real hard you never cross my path again.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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