Episode 54 – Fresh Tarmac & Familiar Tire Tracks.

Fresh Tarmac & Familiar Tire Tracks Or: How Bully Yates Marks His Territory

I bumped into a childhood friend today, someone I hadn’t seen in years. We laughed, we caught up and then we landed, as these things tend to go, on him. Yes, our favorite walking caution sign: Bully Yates.

Turns out, it wasn’t just me. My friend, who I won’t name (because I still believe in protecting the innocent), told me a story from years ago, right after he built his first house. It was a proud moment, the tarmac freshly laid, smooth as silk, black as hope. You know the type. A ‘don’t even look at it the wrong way’ kind of finish.

Enter: Bully. Jeep and all. No invitation, no congratulations. Just a muddy drive-in, tires spinning like he was late for the devil’s meeting. Burnt rubber, torn surface. Like a beast marking territory.

My friend said he just stood there in disbelief. No apology. No offer to fix it. Just Bully, with that usual blank expression, half smug and half clueless. And the worst part? You know it wasn’t an accident.

‘Evil streak’ my friend called it. And I thought: there it is. Not just bad manners. Not just poor judgment. Something darker. The kind of instinct that sees beauty or order and thinks, let me destroy that real quick.

It made me feel a bit less crazy, honestly. Because sometimes, when you’re on the receiving end of a Bully, it feels personal. But turns out, it’s not. He’s just spreading the chaos evenly.

So if you’ve got a Bully in your life – leaving metaphorical skid marks on your peace, your property and your sanity.

Know this – it’s not just you. It’s what he does. He breaks what he doesn’t understand, ruins what he didn’t build and walks away whistling like it never happened.

Lesson of the Day:

When someone keeps wrecking the road behind them, it’s not your job to keep repaving it. Let their own tire tracks lead them straight into the ditch.