Listening

It is every kid’s dream. Here I was with my new learner’s permit sitting behind the wheel of the family car. The light turned green and I was just beginning to press down on the accelerator. “Don’t go!” my father said sternly. I looked ahead, but saw no reason to not go forward, so I pressed down on the pedal. “Hit the brake!” shouted my father. His loud voice startled me to the point that my reflexes took over. I stomped on the brake just as a huge cement truck came screaming across the intersection through a red light. It jumped over the sidewalk, smashed a fence, and finally came to rest against a pile of dirt in a nearby construction site.My father had done what I neglected to do. He had looked both ways and saw the fast moving truck and could see it wasn’t slowing down. I was so excited to be driving, that I was focused only on the changing light. It was only one of the many times that I have been grateful that I have listened to my father’s advice, we have to always remember our culture and where we come from, even those times when I couldn’t quickly see why should I do that...