Friday is usually my creative day.  It’s a day that I devote solely to writing.  I catch up on my blogs, write some articles and then absolutely enjoy writing on one of my three projects:

A Season in Juarez:  Stalled slightly now.  It was supposed to be a free book download to chronicle my experiences of living at an orphanage in Juarez.  Blame it on Jorge and my son - Jorge’s team designed an amazing website based on my son’s photos.  I have to write a better book now.  

And I have the TV Guide synopsis:  ”True story of life and death struggles bringing hope to orphans in Mexico’s most dangerous city.”

“The Bottomline of Your First Business:  You.  Richer.”  -  I LOVE this project.  Megan Hughes and I are working together on it.  It’s the accounting, tax and legal specific how-to for first time business owners or, for that matter, for anyone who started their business without really going through the foundation first.  This gets you caught up.

“Your Business.  Your Taxes.  Your Money.”  This is a more advanced tax strategy book designed for the business owner who has been in business for a few years and is now looking for ways to create more income, build more wealth and best of all, do it so you pay even less taxes.

Yesterday, was a crazy day.  I had a lot of past admin stuff to research and look through.  I didn’t finish up until about noon.  By then the day was shot, so Richard and I decided to just take the afternoon to go run errands.  We’d turn Sat into a full work day.  

And somewhere along the line, things got strange.  I should mention that we both work from home and rarely venture out during the day.  So shopping on a weekday and traveling highways at rush hour were new phenomenon for us.  

We got caught up in a traffic jam and the highway was just creeping along.  A guy in a big white pick up tried to squeeze through traffic, where there was no lane, to get to an exit.  You could see his truck wasn’t going to fit where he was trying to put it (right next to our car), but he did it anyway.  And hit our mirror.  No damage, but there was this momentary “What the heck was that?”

He came so close I was sure it was going to be worse, but no harm, no foul.  We all moved on. Still, I wonder why it was so important that he get to that exit.  He couldn’t take the 15 min or so that it took for the traffic jam to disperse?

Later in the afternoon, we were at our bank.  I actually stayed in the car while Richard went inside.  He came back and we were talking briefly before he started up the car.  I saw a car behind us in the handicapped space and I saw another car pull into the space right next to the car in the handicapped space.  I just kind of made note of it, didn’t really pay a lot of attention.  Then we stared hearing a loud commotion.  The elderly man in the handicapped space was trying to get out of his car, but the other car was parked too close.  He  couldn’t open his door.  The man started yelling.  It was obvious he was panicking.  The other guy seemed to either not care or so involved in his phone conversation that he didn’t hear.  

Richard got out of our car and started back to see if he could help, just then a lady in the car next to his side got out as well.  She was early 30’s, looked like she taught martial arts or something.  Very buff, and confident.  Obvious that she was going to take care of the situation too.

The guy in the handicapped car got his door open an inch or so and banged it against the other guy’s car.  That’s when the guy on the cell phone threw his car in reverse and slammed right into the back of our car.  He turned the wheel, popped it into drive and took off, grazing the leg of another man who had just walked out of the bank.

Then the car stopped.  The athletic lady got out her cell phone and took a picture of his license plate.  Richard wrote down the plate number.  The security guard went over and talked to the guy.  But as we approached, he took off again.  He drove into a nearby lot and waited.  Then he took off again.

Meanwhile the handicapped guy got out of his car and went in the bank.

Someone called 911.  And then the guy came back.  He was a total wreck.  He kept saying “I’m really a nice guy.  I don’t do stuff like this.  I was just so scared.”

I understand panic.  And I understand not always thinking right.  As your emotions go up, your intelligence goes down.  So, the more emotional you are, the worse your choices are likely to be.

But then reality set in.  He was scared of an elderly crippled man?  This man had trouble walking.  Or maybe he was scared of Richard?  Now that is even funnier - those who know Richard know he’s about the most peace-loving guy there is.  (Unless you threaten his family.  He has been known to get nasty then.)  Or maybe it was the athletic lady.  I’ve got to say - she could be intimidating and she was clearly on the side of truth, justice and the American Way.

But I don’t think it was any of those.  I think the guy was in a perpetual state of shock.  He looked horrible - like he hadn’t been sleeping well, hadn’t been eating well and had been worrying way too much.

I’ve seen this more and more lately.  The economy, job loss, real estate drop, stock market drop and all the over-the-top reporting about it has created a base level of fear in many people.  They are just on the edge and all it takes is an irate elderly man to push them over.  

My clients tend to be tougher and more courageous then most.  That’s what it takes to be an entrepreneur these days.  You’ve got be flexible, in charge of creating the day you want and the life you want, on your terms.  For the others, I’m a little worried.  What will it take to be that final straw?  And what does that mean for them and their families?

It’s never been more important to think logically, rationally and to a conclusion that works out best for all intended.  If everyone else is losing their heads, you’ll need to be the sane one.