Decency (One Word, One Page: Influenced by Red Wine)

Decency. When I was much younger someone told me that it was not common to find decent people mind the bush. It was an insult but I went home confused and not slightly. I checked it up and 'decent' proved to be quite vague, frankly it was a word used to describe other qualities I already knew about.

Decency is dependent on the context with which it is used but it it generally means 'to be good'. In the area of sexuality, decency means to not be unnecessarily flirtatious or promiscuous, as regards ones personality. One may say "Zino is a fairly decent chap" and mean he is a responsible guy. But permit me to explore another level of decency.

My friend, Ifeduku (invented name. creative, huh?), just told me a story. On his way to a marriage ceremony he gave someone a lift, a stranger. When they got to the junction where this stranger was meant to get off, there was some hold up so he decided to quickly come down and the person at the back seat opened his door to come up front (no one wanted Ifeduku to look like a driver, I suppose). This is when chaos started. The traffic eased up at the same time this switch was taking place and although Ifeduku realized he wasn't properly parked and was blocking people behind him, he also was banking on the patience of the other drivers to allow him five seconds before moving again.

Before he could say 'akara', a lady appeared in front of his car and screamed "GET THIS CAR OUT OF THE ROAD, LET OTHER PEOPLE PASS' and then she hit the hood of his car with the flat of her palm. Now, my guy knew he was wrong for transferring passengers while still on the road but really, did she need to take it out on his car? His reaction as swift: he put the car in gear and moved forward a bit - careful not to run into her - then he frowned at her, clearly expressing his displeasure at the way she handled his car.

This angered her. She approached his car again and hit it a few times, even harder than the last time. "IS THIS A CAR? IS THIS EVEN A CAR? CAN THIS CAR BE COMPARED TO THE WORST OF MY HUSBAND'S CARS? She even dropped her handbag and asked him pop and plain if he wanted to fight her.

Ifeduku was really really provoked, boiling inside was a more accurate description but he weighed the situation. Was he angry enough to reply violence with violence, fire for fire style? Maybe. Did he feel it was best for him to be seen exchanging blows with a riff-raff thug on the street, a woman at that? NO.

He silently swallowed the stone of embarrassment, controlled his anger and drove off, fuming all the way home. That my friends is decency in display. But then again, I'm tipsy on red wine as we speak. What do I know?