Everyone is of course familiar with the central character, Don Vito Corleone, the Italian Godfather. Ethnically, he originally hailed from Sicily. In multi-awarded The Godfather movie, Don Vito Corleone was originally portrayed by Marlon Brando while his successor son, Michael Corleone, was portrayed by the multi-awarded actor, Al Pacino.

In one of the book’s conversations, Don Vito was giving advice to his underlings that they must be respectful with the person they are meeting on the street for the first time. It is because you don’t really know who he is, what his powers are, and certainly what he is capable of doing. The Godfather film series are all great but the book rendition, at least to my mind, have better conversational dialogues and more nuggets of wisdom.

Within The Godfather’s context, I wish to narrate this story. Although I did not personally witness the event, I am upfront about that, the rationale behind not underestimating the strangers you encounter on the street is worth re-telling. I have added three caricatures to visualize the story. It was casually shared after a game at the tennis court’s social room, sometime in 2001. The narrator was a club officer and I am not exactly sure if his first name was Vic. During that period, I was still playing tennis at the Quezon Institute Tennis Club in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The event he shared was actually quite short, but it’s lesson in life is still etched in my sub-conscious.

Accordingly, the incident happened at a plush Sports Club in the nearby Makati City, the Central Business District of Metro Manila. It was a place where the wealthy members and their business and professional associates congregate. A few members were idly chatting around in the parking area. At that time, because of a big event, there was only one available slot in the parking area.

A lady who was in her early 40s arrived first. She was driving a typical model of a Toyota Corolla car, which was dirty-white in color. The lady was dressed casually, and she looked quite unassuming – at least from a distance. She was followed closely by a big, burly elderly man in his mid-50s. The bloke was proudly driving a brand-new and latest model car: a glistening grayish Mercedes Benz.

She signaled her indicator to the left and was very slowly turning to park in the lone available parking slot. The trailing guy, however, apparently decided to make an on-the-spot decision.  Seeing a lady who was driving an ordinary car, he probably thought that he could easily bully her.

Instead of allowing her to park, the bloke driving the Mercedes Benz abruptly accelerated and cut her turning lane. To avoid the possible car collision, she abruptly slammed her brake, screeching her Toyota Corolla to a shaking halt. Meantime, the gentleman casually proceeded to occupy the lone parking slot, as if nothing had happened.

He did not immediately get out of his vehicle; instead; he remained parked there for some time, with the engine still running and the air-conditioning system still on. The by-standers were amazed at the man’s unruly behavior.

As expected, the lady disembarked from her Toyota Corolla. Quietly, although with still a regal posture, she walked towards the Mercedes Benz’s owner. Upon reaching the car, she gently knocked at the man’s driver seat window. The man rolled down the glass window. I shall paraphrase the ensuing conversation as relayed by our club officer.

“Why did you cut my turning lane?” the woman asked, still in a civil tone. The man did not respond at once but was just half-smiling. “You know very well that I came ahead of you in this lone parking slot,” she continued. As if jesting or mocking the lady, the guy gave an unusual response within the hearing distance of the by-standers that had now congregated into a small crowd.

“You were driving quite slow”, the gentleman casually responded. “In this world, lady,” he continued, “you must be fast!” (Figure 1) He even added boastful phrases that since he was quite fast, he got the lone parking slot first. The woman left in apparent disgust, without uttering any more word, while the man had indolently remained in the car.