Putting on Your Bullet Proof Gumptionista Vest

One of my favorite Gumptionista moments came a few years ago when I witnessed a hit and run accident. I remember the day clearly. I was at a red light making a left hand turn. At the light on the other side of the street, a man slowly stopped and then rolled into the car in front of him. As soon as the light turned green, the woman preceded to pull over, but the man made a quick right turn and took off. I could not believe what I was seeing. I immediately chased after him and thankfully he was stopped at another red light. I wrote down his license plate number, details of his car, and whatever features I could see from behind. I went back to the scene, hoping that the victim was still there. I figured I could hand off the information and continue on with my day. Unfortunately, she had already left. I called the police, who showed up in minutes to take my report. I’ll never forget the officer saying to me, “ya know, people get killed doing this sort of stuff.” I responded, “well Officer Canterbury, this wasn’t going to happen on my watch. I was the victim of a hit and run accident a year previous and I wish someone had taken the time to do what I did today.”

About an hour later, I got a call from Officer Canterbury, indicating that the same car had hit another vehicle and the man left the car at the scene and walked home. I was asked to come and identify the man, who was drunk out of his mind, standing in his yard with another officer. I positively identified him and he was taken into custody. I received a call from Officer Canterbury later that night, thanking me for taking the time out of my day and doing the right thing. Apparently, I was the only person who came forward and this man went to jail for DUI for the second time for hitting three cars that day, drunk. I thought at that moment, I have on my Gumptionista bullet proof vest and as long as I was doing what I believed, nothing and no one could hurt me.

Are you a Gumptionista?

I coined the word “Gumptionista” a few months ago, because I wanted one word that would be all encompassing of who I was, and one that many other strong women could relate to. A word that when I thought about it, would bring me back to my true self. I’ve always loved the word gumption, which the dictionary defines as resourcefulness, courage, spunky, and has guts.

When I think of the word Gumptionista, I think of a “gutsy broad.” It doesn’t matter if you’re single, married, divorced, old, or young. It’s an inherent quality of taking charge, going after what you want, and not being afraid of standing up for what you believe in. The word most reminds me of my east coast, Italian grandmother, who has never been afraid of anything and who at 82 years old, won the fight against breast cancer. Several years ago, my grandmother was jumped in a mall parking lot by two punks. They pushed her to the ground and pulled at the gold jewelry around her neck. She calmly looked up at them and said "you little bastards, I got a good look at your face and my husband is in the mob." My grandfather wasn't really in the mob, but that seemed to be a good thing to say at the time. It seemed to work, because it didn't take long for those guys to take off running. My grandmother, who is all but 4' 11", stood up, dusted herself off, and went on her with her day. I’ve always admired her strength and whenever I start to have a weak moment, I think about the essence of my grandmother, and I immediately snap out of it.