Thursday, May 01, 2003

Vitriol and Petrol

A Simple Plan

It wasn't supposed to be this hard. I was just trying to get home before rush hour. Was I going a little too fast? Yes, at least that's what the VA state trooper said, but that's getting ahead of myself. First, I was still in WV, just trying to get around some slowpokes. There was a car in the right lane(the blue box in your visual aid), and another car(red box) and two pickup trucks(they're blue) in the center lane, none of them going very fast.

But the left lane was free and clear, so the solution seemed obvious: hop over there and pass those slowpokes up...

Oops. I turns out the left lane has to exit onto Route 64. I don't want to be on Route 64, so maybe someone will take pity on me and let me back in.

There's some space between the car and the pickup, but not quite enough. I keep hoping the car will give me some room, but then, the pickup takes pity on my and moves into the right lane.

Hooray. Now there's plenty of room for my little Escort, so I slide on in.

But as soon as I do, the other pickup, the one in front of me, starts to slow down, so I slow down, too, so as to prevent our vehicles from becoming one. The car behind me does not like this at all. The left lane is now gone, so he tries to pass on the right.

Oops, that other pickup is there. Impatient Car should have been paying attention. But he gets up as close as he can and blasts his horn. This doesn't accomplish anything, but if it makes him happy, that's okay. Still, I don't like being around impatient, angry drivers, so when our little convoy breaks up, I get out of there. And that's the end of the story.

No, that's not the end, neither

The speeding ticket was way down the road in VA. It's not good story because there was no drama. I knew I was speeding. Mr. Policeman knew I was speeding. He gave me a ticket and sent me, a little more slowly, on my way. It was all very calm, and, while I don't yet know how I'm going to pay for this ticket, I figure that's the end of my Highway Woes.

It is not over yet

Now I'm almost on empty, so it's off to exit 77 to gas up for the final leg of my trip. I pull in, start gassing up, and another car pulls into the station. The fellow rolls down his window, and we have the following exchange:

"Hey, did you get a ticket back there?"

"Yep."

"Good! You drive like an idiot!"

"Thank you."

"You cut me off. I hope it costs you $200!"

"Have a nice day."

"Ass!"

And he drove off. Isn't that special? As he drove off, I think I recognized his car as the one that honked at me back in WV. You know, you run around every day feeling unappreciated, unnoticed, anonymous in the crowd, but that is not the case. There're people out there who do notice you. One man in particular will remember you from way back in the previous state and will take time out of his journey to give you helpful driving tips, so fear not, you are not alone.

Epiladyouge

So off goes my new highway friend. The guy at the pump opposite me says, "Did he drive in here just to say that?"
I realized then that he hadn't actually gotten any gas, just pulled in, cussed me out, and left. "I guess so."
"That's funny, because I was on the highway when he was, and his driving isn't too great."
So we get further insight into the character of the horn-tooting Samaritan. He could have taken the selfish route. He could devoted his time to improving his own driving skills, but chose instead to focus on others. It's a level of selflessness not often found in strangers. It's kind of inspiring, and I hope some day I meet that man again, and maybe he'll be in need of a friend, and I'll be able to kick that jackass in his fucking head return the favour. Someday, my highway friend, someday...

"Have a nice day."
posted 2:34 PM