Finally Happened

For half a decade I worked part-time at the Chevron near my house.  I was amazed at the number of people that would come speeding into the parking lot just to come to a screeching halt in the parking spots in front of the building.  I was even more amazed that no one ever jumped the curb and hit the windows.

Until this Wednesday.  I stopped by after school to fill up my tank and the manager was still sweeping up the glass;  I “missed it by that much”.

Of course the kid said that it was an accident, his foot slipped off the clutch.  That’s just about what TMC said in ‘87 when he drove his parent’s Country Squire into the Seven-11 ice machine. 

Truth was he was screwing around, trying to make a grand entrance and misjudged the car’s stopping ability.  Considering the damage done here, I suspect this kid was doing the same.  

That bent frame looks like more damage than a stopped car with a slipped clutch would do, but I could be wrong.

Maximum Stupidity, Thursdays on your local Fox Network.

Stupidity reigns above all.  Especially for the moron in the white Honda 4 door behind me on 21st South today.  Now, considering the number of white Hondas on the road, this could be anyone, but soon you'll know if I mean you.

I was driving home around 5:00 tonight, coming up 2100 So between 11th and 13th East.  The light at 13th was out, so traffic was backed up all the way back to 11th.  It took me about 15 minutes to go the 2 blocks.  The whole time with this white Honda riding my back bumper.  I started by rolling back a little bit each time she rode up on my bumper.  Then I escalated to a roll back with flashing the backup lights.  Since she seems to have the right to follow as close as she damn well pleases, this just encouraged her to get even closer each time.  So close that all I could see out my back window was her windshield, and that was before I did any rolling back.  So I yell out the window, before even noticing her window was down also, "Do you have to ride my ass so close?"  No response except to continue following as close as before.  So I decided to limit the number of times she had to move so close to my bumper, figuring the fewer times we move the less likely she is to hit me (and maybe it'll tick her off also).  So I start letting the car in front of me get a full car length ahead, or more, before I would move up at all.  This did not agree with her plans.  She gets even closer.  So I yell out the window again "You're not going to get there any faster riding my ass!"  Still she does.  A couple moves forward and I yell it again.  Then she does something unexpected.  She pulls out her cell phone and points it at my back end as if to take a picture.  Ohhh, nooooo!  The police are gonna git me fer driving slower when tailgated.  So I pull out my camera and pretend to take a picture of her (all I got was the back seat).  Pull up a little further, she pulls up on my bumper again and then flashes her phone at me as if to say "Look, I got a picture of you!"  Again I think "and?"  I shrug my shoulder out the window to show exactly how much that concerns me, just as the car in front pulls up far enough for me to get into the left turn lane, and get my chance to turn left before she pulls up next to me so I can shrug my shoulders at her again.

I vent, therefore I am. (done with it, that is).

A Kia, 2 passengers and a pedestrian.

That's what would have died if I had driven the LTD to school.

13th East and 13th South. I'm going 40 (in a 35 zone) just about at the crosswalk when bonehead in the Kia decided to take a right hand turn right in front of me. 1 - he was on the downhill side so there was no doubt he could see me and 2 - as usual, there was nobody behind me for blocks. Slammed on the brakes, cursed his forefathers, passed him on the right when the road split into two lanes, actually just said "thanks" (no "F" word, promise!). Not in a nice way, but that was the only word I said. AND I kept my hands on the wheel. Didn't even flip him off. A studnet told me today that in the recent past, I cut a car off and when they honked at me I flipped them off. Her mother was driving the car, she was a passenger. So, I'm trying to be a little more careful about that.

Then while on campus this woman decides to stroll across the road right in front of me, even though I had the green light. And I'm not talking darting across the road, like I've done sometimes, trying to get across the road before I'm hit or cause an accident. She just strolled across the road like there was no one else around. I had to swerve into the next lane, thankfully there was no one next to me. And again, I didn't swear or give her the single-finger salute. I just yelled "I had the green light" and I went past her. Sheesh, they never told me that going to college would be THIS hard!