It was a nice day at the laundromat. I had the place to myself, until near the end of drying. As I am folding, in walk a father and his child. She wanted to go somewhere else because I was there. He said, “This place is good. It is only one person, he’s fine.” I found that odd, but figured she was a shy girl.

He started loading clothes, and apparently the machine took his money. He wasn’t happy. He angrily call the phone number listed should there be an issue, and got more upset when the person wasn’t going to rush over to refund his $2.00.

Before he called, he asked me which washer worked and which didn’t. I replied I knew the one I used works. He fumed, made his call, and then again asked me which ones worked and which ones didn’t. Again I replied, I knew the one I just used works. He then started going around trying to ruin other machines in retaliation. As he got to my row, again he asks, “Which machines work, and which don’t.”

This time I replied, “No, I’m not going tell you.
“Uh, what? Why not?”
“Because you have asked three times, I already answered you twice, clearly you don’t care about the answer.”
“I’ve had bad day, don’t make it worse,” he whined at me.
“Oh, so because you had a bad fucking day, that makes it okay for you to try to ruin other people’s day?”
“Don’t swear in front of my daughter.”
“Fuck you, I’ll swear if I fucking want.”
“I’ll kick your ass.”
“Oh, so you are telling me that swearing in front of your daughter is worse then threatening to kick a perfect stranger’s ass?”

He must have agreed, because he suddenly sent her scurrying behind the washing machines. He then took off his shirt because he was getting serious about threatening me. I am still just folding clothes. He comes up to my side, since he couldn’t get in my face, there was a table and machines in the way, and I looked over and asked, “Do you really think I am afraid of you?”

He fumed off. I packed my laundry, turned my back, and walked out. I resisted leaving a parting comment because in the end, I figured he would take it out on his daughter.

While all that was happening, I am watching his daughter wearing a look of amazement. I suddenly realized why she didn’t want anybody around when they did laundry, it was her father. This may have been the first time she had seen somebody non-violently stand-up to her dad and win with logic.

This also made me realize a new level of skill I acquired somehow. I don’t think there is a skill that has brought so many tears. In my youth, I would have never understood the pain of being powerful, or how much such an internal strength would hurt me. I could have never understood the terror of being able to stand-up.

– Duckin’ Kev