Let me set this up for you: 70 °F, sunny, and I'm off work. Turtle tells me I'd be a fool not to go for a bike ride; I can't argue with that kind of logic, and off I go.
Madness.
You: The school bus driver in the next neighborhood over.
Me: Wondering how it is that you have no qualms about sitting with your stop sign stuck out, holding up traffic while you socialize with one of the riders' parents; but you're in such a rush that you have to make your right turn across my path rather than wait for the additional five seconds it would have taken me to pass the side street on to which you turned.
You: The high-and-tight mouth breather who parked his fire engine red monster truck in the middle of the road while he chatted with the guy in his front yard.
Me: Flattered that, after my appraisal of your choice of parking spots, you cared enough to hunt me down, pull up next to me, and lean across the seat with your middle finger out the passenger window. Boy, you sure put me in my place, and I'm touched that you spent half an hour of your life to make sure that you found me and delivered your message.
You: The lady crossing guard who saw me coming, marched out in the middle of the street, and held up her sign to stop me—the only moving vehicle in sight.
Me: Glad to know you're out there keeping the neighborhood safe. If you hadn't stopped me for the full minute that it took for the stroller-pushing dad reach your crosswalk, it could have been blood and entrails all over the road. And I hope you
Merry freakin' Christmas to the lot of ya.
9 comments:
I've had rides like that, and I inevitably get home and can't decide which bothers me more: the idiotic behavior of other people, or the way I let those behaviors get me riled up.
Beta won't let me log in. :(
I've come to realize... I HATE driving. Remember when it was "cool?" Ya know, back when you were 16? I would beg my Mom to give me an errand. I think that lasted 2 years. Now I have to practice meditation just so I don't play bumper cars with my SUV. The other day a lady cut me off by turning right from a LEFT turning lane. Oy.
Tink Erbell
So Foo, I'm wondern about 2 of the 3.
The bus driver thing makes sense.
The truck. Didja say something to the guy about his choice of parking spots? That's what I read between the loins. If ya did, then he did what most of say we're not gonna do: retaliate.
Can't fault the crossing guard cuz she know's it's easier to stop you than a 2,000 behomoth and her first priority IS the dad with the baby. Can ya say for sure he wasn't already crossing the street before ya approached?
Now don't hit me, I'm just look'n to see what's on the other side of the coin.
Hmm...my first post to Foo's blog and I'm questioning his sanity. Wait...he does that hisself. (gr&d)
And I do love this blog.
Eric: Yup... I hate that it gets to me, too. I think I just expect too much from people.
Badoozie: Who knows what their motivations are. Maybe a bicyclist ran over their baby.
Tink: Let me guess. You were taking too long to make your right hand turn?
Joe: I didn't say anything to the truck driver. As I approached and realized I couldn't see around him to tell whether I was going to get smashed by oncoming traffic, I muttered something along the lines of, "Oh, way to park in the middle of the road, you moron." Either he was a lip reader or had a pretty good idea what anyone in my position might say, because I made no had gestures and was too far away for him to have heard me.
When the crossing guard stopped me, there was no one at the crosswalk. The guy with the stoller was a good 30 yards away, and a kid on a bike maybe 20 feet ahead of him. The crossing guard stopped me a good half minute before the kid reached the crosswalk.
And while I'm at it, there was also the guy at the stop light. Two lanes: one for left turn, the other for straight through and right turn. I stopped at the light, waiting to go straight, and a guy with his right blinker on pulled up behind me. I saw him coming, stood up, and duck-walked my bike over to the center line so that he could get by and make his right turn. As he passed me, he glared and yelled at me in Spanish. I'm pretty sure he wasn't saying "Thanks! I appreciate your considerate gesture."
It was not a good ride.
WV: "nirfski" [giggle] I just like the way it sounds.
wow. Who knew that TREK stood for This Ride Equals Killjoy?
Fa la la la la, la la la la!
Why do drivers hate bicyclists so much? I really think people turn into their evil twin when they get behind the wheel of a car. But I don't know what bicyclists have done to instigate some of the nasty responses they get just for being on the road?! Sorry your ride was so discouraging, especially on such a lovely day. The best response I've come up with is to pray they make it through another day and arrive safely at their destination.
Maybe you have been thrown in jail for your cycling antics? Men who have the gall to risk their life on their incumbent recumbent bike (that I can never remember the name of) are a threat to National Security and asinine drivers everywhere.
Susie: No... I just haven't had anything to say that's both interesting and positive. I've basically been doing web volunteer duties, lying awake all night, and trying to get ready for the holiday travels.
But I promise that if I have anything to post that wouldn't paint me as a) boring, b) really boring, or c) a whiner I'll be sure and get it right on here.
Emma: Mea culpa. Call me Hummer Bane.
It's always an adventure when you "mount up" Foo :-)
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