Car Bumpers Are for Bumping, Right?

Recently, my bumper bumped the bumper of another car in the Panera parking lot. It was a tiny little bump. I left a note and still have not heard. So fingers crossed it was okay.

Anyway, my fellow co-worker newbie Mary Ann was with me. She commiserated and told me this story.

One very windy day, she had pulled into a parking spot. She was about to get out of the car, when another car pulled into the space beside her. Conventional manners typically require the second car to wait for the first person to get out before pulling in. But Mary Ann was going to let it go and be polite.

However, while she was getting out of the car, her door blew into that second car. There was a couple driving the car. And, there was a white scratch. Mary Ann apologized profusely. The man had a fit, saying things like, "Oh my God." "Look at this!" "The car's ruined." "What am I going to do?" etc.

The wife got out of the car. She took her finger and wiped it across the scratch. The scratch disappeared. (Mary Ann supposes it was wallboard chalk from her garage.)

The wife put her hands on her hips and looked at her husband.

Mary Ann bit her tongue.

The husband was very apologetic.

Walking away, she saw the wife say something to the husband. She's pretty sure the wife was telling him he should have followed decorum in the first place and waited before pulling into the space. This made Mary Ann feel much, much better.