I was driving home from work last night around 6 pm-ish. I'm approaching an intersection which is very small retail on one corner, a small office building on the other corner, a park, and an office duplex with some kind of medical office. There's a big white delivery truck (like a UHaul) in front of me. He pulls to the curb and I find it a little irritating because he's blocking the right turn lane which means I might have to sit through the light waiting for the left turners. It's a small street so there's no left turn lane.
I sort of wonder about the truck because it's a little late to be making deliveries. The driver gets down out of the cab and hurries around the front to the medical building. I'm right next to the truck, to its left.
Suddenly I get this bizarre thought. What if the truck contains a bomb and the driver is getting away before it goes off? I realize that it's a stupid idea because there's really no one to kill here and no particular infrastructure damage to be done. Still, I actually feel a rush of fear and (it's safe to do this) I immediately turn left into the small retail parking lot and then out the other side to the cross street.
No explosion, just some guy trying to make a late delivery.
Sigh.
I'm not even sure what to think. Was it stupid to have turned left? Isn't it a good idea to act on your gut instinct? I read other stories about people panicking because of some "stupid" fear and I think they're lame. Of course, usually they're still frightened days later. I had a rush of fear that left almost instantly when there was no big bang.
Still. Was I stupid? or did I demonstrate good survival skills?
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