Traffic on the way into work this morning was unusually light. I had some extra time so I pulled into the decrepit Dunkin Donuts/Gas Station that never fails to enrage me for some reason. The exchange of money for donut went smoothly as did the purchase of a soda at the gas station register despite the fact that both clerks were talking to parties unknown on their bluetooth headsets. I walk out to my car and open the driver’s side door to get in. Simultaneously I notice something odd going on in the vehicle next to mine. The driver of that vehicle is in the process of either assembling or disassembling several soft shell tacos on the front passenger seat of her car. I could clearly see the lettuce and various ingredients. Maybe it was the distraction caused by this strange ritual or maybe it was the fact that my left hand was occupied by holding my donut and beverage but as I opened my own door I lost control of it for a moment and it flung open faster than I wanted.

For the briefest instant I was struck by a moment of terror at the thought of dinging the side of the adjacent car with my car door. I can’t even speculate on the possible reactions of person assembling tacos on the front seat of their car at 8:50am on a Wednesday morning.

I managed to catch the door in time to avoid an incident. If I hadn’t I might have ended up with a Mexican lady screaming obscenities at me, flailing her arms with a ball of lettuce in each hand with me standing there trying desperately to think of a way out of the situation with my donut intact.