anger on the street.

The other day a friend and me were riding on his little Honda moped, with me on the back carrying a shovel. We have been working on painting the front of the church but needed to buy a shovel in order to move some sand. The friend's name is Pedro by the way. He has a layed-back personality and is very calm, but very funny with a great sense of humor. He is also going to be my new Portuguese teacher. He does not speak English- maybe like 10 words tops. But I am excited to start learning with him.

Anyway-- on our way back to the church, Pedro hit a guy riding a bike. It was an awkward little accident. Pedro was crossing an intersection very slowly because there was this guy on his bike. Pedro (and I) did not know where this dude was going to turn because he was in the middle of the road. So he had to make a decision on which way he would take to pass the guy. Right when he chose left, the dude turned left and Pedro's moped hit the back of this guy's wheel. The wheel was totally bent and unable to be used anymore. This dude must not have had any other way of transportation because he was so angry. He began swearing, (I think) yelling loudly, waving his hands obnoxiously, and pointing hopelessly at his broken bike. Basically he was making a scene and trying to trigger Pedro's aggressive nerve in order to get into a fight. He would have loved that. He looked like he was an experienced street fighter. He had lean, cut muscles that looked like they have survived many wounds. At one point he picked up his bike and threw it across the street. Then he went and picked it up and threw it at Pedro's poor moped that had a for sale sign on it. All through this mayhem, Pedro tried calming this dude down and telling him he would help him out in any way. I was impressed with his calm demeanor. I was trying not to laugh out loud. Seriously, I thought it was hilarious. I wasn't laughing to be rude though, I just thought it was a funny reaction from the dude. It was one of those times where you know you shouldn't be laughing, but you cant help it. Like when someone inconspicuously farts during a group prayer. Sometimes a little burst of laughter cannot be contained.

We ended up driving down the road to a bike shop. The fuming dude followed us, carrying his handicapped bike. Pedro asked a man how much it would cost to replace the back tire and rim. $37.50. Pedro offered to pay for it and that was that. The dude was still pretty angry, but Pedro's offer calmed him down tremendously.

Bikers on the road are the ones I watch the closest now. I can't imagine that happening to me and having someone blow into a tantrum with me laughing in their face. That would probably end bad.