Murphy's World

Fighting mad over place in line

Dear Murphy,

I have seen a lot of crazy things, but last December I experienced the worst day of all time. I had pulled into a truck stop to get fuel. The fuel islands were full, and most were stacked two-deep with trucks. I saw one that had only one truck, so I pulled behind it to wait my turn.

While waiting, I talked to my wife on my cell. When the truck pulled forward, I pulled into the bay behind him. I shut my truck off and was trying to end the conversation with my wife when—Bam! Bam! Bam! I A mad man was pounding on my door and yelling at me.

I tried to reason with him, but he just kept getting louder and angrier. He had already called me every name in the book. He grabbed my door and jerked it open, climbed up into the cab and started beating me in the head.

My wife called 911. Meanwhile, this guy pulled me out of the truck and onto the ground. I suffered a concussion, a dislocated shoulder and torn rotator cuff, along with cuts and scrapes.

I got to my feet and was ready to take this 330-pound guy on when the store manager ran out to break it up. The woman jumped in between us and began yelling at both of us. She pointed at him and then at me and yelled, “Get back in your trucks and leave now.”

I refused to leave until the police came to arrest the other guy for assaulting me. When the police did arrive, the store manager filed criminal trespassing charges against me. The police wrote me tickets for “fighting” and “swearing.” I had to pay the tickets and hire an attorney. Three days later, I was terminated from my job.

Donald M.

Justin, TX

Dear Donald,

That’s not a Murphy story; that’s a “Law & Order” script. I’ve heard of road rage, but truck-stop rage? What’s this world coming to?

Nothing about this sad tale makes any sense, especially the part about the female store manager stepping between two angry combatants (one of whom weighs 330 pounds) while a bunch of burly onlookers do nothing. That manager is either brave or nuts. Probably a little of both. Quite frankly, I don’t blame her for telling you and your boxing buddy to take a hike. It’s not her job to determine who is at fault. That’s for the cops and the courts to decide, which brings us back to “Law & Order.”

I sympathize with your plight. It sounds like you got hosed by everyone—the bad guy, the manager, the cops, the courts and, finally, your company. All I can do is wish you luck and offer this little piece of advice: The next time a 330-pound mad man takes a swing at you, duck.

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog