Today, a random stranger pulled a knife on my daughter and I.

Don’t be alarmed now, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but it was scary. Let me explain.

It’s the last week of my summer vacation. Today, I decided to pick up my daughter at her job in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. My car was double-parked across the street. She came out, jumped into my car, and I drove off. I made a U-turn at the corner to go in the other direction. Just then, a cyclist came careening towards my car like a bat out of hell and barely hit me. I was shocked and concerned that he got injured. I looked outside my car window and saw the cyclist did not get touched. He stopped his bike and looked at me with an angry face. He had a vengeful look in his face. He jumped back on his bike and began cycling towards my car. I drove up towards the traffic light on the next block. He pumped his bike as fast as possible to catch up to my car. At the next corner, he jumped off of his bike, had a look of fury in his face, and reached for something hidden in his pocket. Thinking it was a gun, I immediately applied my foot to the gas pedal to have my car speed off, but the crosswalk was already blocked. He pulled out a six-inch knife, held it in the air, and rushed towards my car tire on the passenger side. He quickly plunged the knife into the tire which completely blew out the tire. Not knowing what to do next, I decided to drive my car, blown tire and all, to the next block and pulled it over to the curb where it would be away from traffic.

Instead of panicking, I decided to be as levelheaded and proactive as possible. My daughter and I were okay, after all. At the urging of a witness, I called the police and filed a report. I then called AAA to help get my tire changed. When the police arrived, I described what had happened and what the suspect looked like. The police asked me to go in their patrol car to help them search for the suspect. I told my daughter to stay behind and wait for the AAA mechanic to come by.

We did not find the suspect during our search, but the police did issue a warrant for his arrest. It is now on record that this individual did such a thing to my car, which can only be a good thing now that it’s on record.

I used this ordeal as a lesson for my daughter. She learned that as citizens of this great city we live in, we have the right to call the police when the situation arises and that there’s a value in having a AAA membership. She also learned that when bad things happen, it’s best to keep a level head.

As soon as I got home, I visited a tire shop and had the punctured tire replaced. I plan on waking up tomorrow morning forgetting that this whole ordeal happened so that I can continue enjoying the rest of my summer vacation.

Life gave us lemons today. The lemonade I made was in the lessons that my daughter learned by being proactive when bad things happen.