Story # 50: Embarrassing Moments
Awkward Teenage Years
I was 17, and had only started dating a few weeks before. I was holding hands with my date, and thought it would be romantic to kiss his hand. So I lifted his hand to my mouth and proceeded to plant a big kiss on my own hand! I was so discombobulated that I didn’t even try to do it again the correct way, and tried to pretend I meant to do that. My date looked at me like I was crazy and I tried to act like everything was okay. We never dated again.
Good Deed Turns Deadly
I was 18 years old, and had a true love. Ernie. Our church had a fund raiser where I could donate in a person’s name to honor that person. So I donated funds to honor my true love.
The next week, Ernie informed me that his parents got a condolences letter from the church saying they were sorry he died but that I had donated money in his name!
Oh my gosh, I was mortified. Thank goodness Ernie and his parents thought it was funny.
Before Cell Phones, close escape
It was a cold and rainy day. I was 19 years old and driving on the interstate. Up ahead I could see a car had skidded off the road, leaving swerving tracks into the grassy median. A lady was standing next to it looking forlorn. This was before cell phones, so my first thought was to stop to see if she was okay, then offer to get off at the next exit and use a pay phone to call for help.
You would think her swerving tracks would have given me a clue as to the need to be extra careful as I pulled off the road. But instead I just pulled into the median, where my adrenaline hit the roof as my own car started wildly skidding! Not only that, but I was headed right at her car!Thank goodness I was able to get my car under control, coming to a stop with barely 2 feet to spare. Instead of heroically riding to her rescue, it turned out I scared the lady as much as me! She finally calmed down enough to say “I’m okay. It’s too dangerous here, please get back on the highway carefully. I’m sure a policeman will be by soon to help me.” Still shaking, I couldn’t get my mouth and tongue to work enough to speak, much less offer to make that call for her. I simply nodded, got back in my car, carefully merged onto the interstate and went on my way.
LESSON LEARNED: Don’t take myself so seriously. When I do something embarrassing like kissing my own hand, it’s far better to laugh at myself and move on than try to pretend it didn’t happen.
LESSON LEARNED: Before doing a good deed, think about it, read any fine print, and make sure I understand what I’m doing. There is a huge difference between donating “in honor” as opposed to “in memoriam.”
LESSON LEARNED: Always be aware of dangerous conditions for driving! Paying attention to the actions of other drivers will often give you insight into potentially dangerous situations.
LESSON LEARNED: Before helping someone in need, take a moment to gain better awareness of the situation. You don’t want to let an unthinking rush to the rescue turn an honest effort to help into making things worse.
LESSON LEARNED: While we sometimes wish we could just forget those embarrassing incidents of our youth, it is often worth recalling the humiliation to remember the lesson.
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Have a good week!
— Donna Gateley
