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Driving Meanies

One day, I was driving in one of those pretty but impractically designed shopping centers.  There was a huge median full of Crape Myrtles.  At a stop sign, I stopped, looked both ways–or at least as far as I could see around the trees–and went.  But someone was coming and when we saw each other, we both braked.  And then this guy proceeded to scream at me–red face, gaping maw, the whole nine yards.  I couldn’t hear him, but I could see him, and I thought whoa.  Take a Xanax, meanie.  I mean, I didn’t do it on purpose.  It was an honest mistake.

A few days later,  I pulled up behind a woman who was talking on her cellphone at a light.  The light turned green.  She didn’t move.  I waited.  She still didn’t move.  So I kindly — KINDLY — tapped my horn to let her know the light was green.  I didn’t lay on it.  It was a toot more than a horn.  She flipped me off!  Why would she be so mean?  She was the one who wasn’t paying attention.  Meanie!

I even talked about this with some family.  When did we become so hateful?  When did we begin to believe everyone was out to ruin our day?  I even suggested that I was above that because I don’t have a lot of stress in my life, and therefore, I don’t react that way.

Sometimes, I amaze myself with my ludicrous ideas.

I have a fast car.  I have one because I live near Interstate 35, and I have to get on it to get places, and there is so much traffic, I think I need to be able to accelerate quickly.  But today, I pulled in behind a Grandpa in a BMW.  He was doing maybe 50.  I couldn’t get around him, I was stuck, and before I realized what was happening, I was shouting some unkind things to him and–get this–pounding my steering wheel.   Before anyone chastises me, that man never even knew I was behind him, much less that I was screaming at him.  I told myself it was a one time thing because I was running late.  But later, when a kid got in the car at rush hour, and we got in a slow lane, he said, “Aren’t you going to tell them to DRIVE their CAR?”

That sounded just like me.  And I man a driving meanie.

I told the kid we should never yell, not even at other drivers.    And then I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that I had to peel my fingers off when I got home.

What kind of driver are you?  Do you give drivers the benefit of the doubt, or are you intolerant of absent-minded driving?  Do you yell at other drivers or do you practice your yoga breathing? Have you been yelled at?  What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done behind the wheel?

Written by Julia London

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fiction for all women and a few good men. She writes historical romance and women's fiction light. A wishy-washy Pisces, Julia is a procrastinator with poor dog training skills. She has wogged her way through five half marathons and was so impressed with herself she bought a bike. She's been kind of grumpy lately, so watch out. The Last Debutante, on sale now. The Fancy Lives of the Lear Sisters, reissues, on sale May 21.

Visit Julia London's website  |  Follow Julia London on Twitter  |  Follow Julia London on Facebook


67 Comments on “Driving Meanies”

You can track this conversation through its atom feed.

  1. E.R. says:

    For the most part, I’m a passive-aggressive driver. I’m pretty “cool” for the most part, though there ARE times when I’m in a ‘temper’. There are some family members who are MORE “meanie” people than I am.

    I have a limit to my passiveness. When a driver reaches near my limit, I just lower my hand and give that driver the “IT” sign. And then I just let it pass me by. When a driver is at my limit, I still do the same sign, grumble, and glare. Then that’s over. I don’t do the ‘Glare’ when I pass by the driver (which some family members do).

    I’ve been “yelled” at. Or rather, honked at. There was this one instance, in which I was THIS close to getting out of the vehicle, glare at that person, and say a word or two about “patience”. It was at this parking lot, though. There was two open spaces and I was going to go to one, BUT the cart person has his carts blocking it and I was waiting for that person to move his carts away. Anyway, a car honked at me…not once…but at least twice (not sure if she honked at me three times, given that my memory isn’t sure about that detail). Boy, was she impatient. I mean, she could have gone around me, there was plenty of room for that. But she was impatient to do her shopping or something. However, I kept my “cool” and stayed in the vehicle and pretended to look in my bag because I wanted her to get out first or else I would lose it. Though when she wasn’t looking, I DID give her the ‘Glare’. (As for seeing her in the store, I steered myself away because I REALLY didn’t want to lose it.

    Okay, just remembering that, which happened just last month, made me upset. I’ll just move onward…

    …okay, I rarely use the horn since I feel that it is only for those “rare” instances. I will say, I had come close a few times to using it, but thankfully the said drivers had realized their mistakes (in which said drivers didn’t move when the light turned green) or drove on without realizing their *cough* “errors.”

    A stupid thing I had done while driving? Ehehehe, should I even say it?

    1. Julia London says:

      I think it’s perfectly reasonable to tap on the horn to tell someone it is green. I don’t know why she would think I was judging her or being mean, honestly. Over-reaction

      1. E.R. says:

        Well, there was one ‘over-reaction’ that happened at this store. I didn’t realize that I had done something wrong, maybe block her progress or something, since I was talking to my mother. Anyway, she said that I should say sorry, and I said it, since it felt like I did something wrong, which I got from her tone. And I REALLY thought it was an ‘over-reaction’ since I don’t think I hit her or something. Mind you, it was a “tight” space between clothes aisle (you know, when you peruse the clothes hanging on the rack; similar to what a Marshall’s clothing aisle would be), I had my hands full, and my attention was on my mother.

        But whatever the other person felt that I did, I just had to say I’m sorry and get over it. It felt like she was one of those persons who is more aggressive over such things.

        And sorry that this isn’t about driving. I just wanted to point out the ‘over-reactions’ of some people. Which your glaring person made me think of.

  2. Kelly Proellocks says:

    I haven’t driven for a while because my learner’s permit has expired and I haven’t gotten around to renewing it yet. But when I was driving I did okay other than scaring the crap out of the driving instructor several times but my housemate (Sci Fi Guy) is an appalling driver. I have no idea how he hasn’t gotten more fines than what he has because he regularly does 60 or 70 in a school zone which is marked as being only 40.

    1. Julia London says:

      That’s terribly dangerous, Kelly. Tell him if he’s going to speed, to do it on the highway with everyone else :-)

      1. Kelly Proellocks says:

        Oh believe me, I ripped him a new one. Heck, my sister ripped him a new one. I’m sure that if his family knew they would have kicked his @$$ for such utter disregard to the lives of children and to the rules of the road.

        1. CateS says:

          You might also let him know that he will be severely punished caught going something like 45MPH over the posted limit… heavy fines & points [which increases insurance rates] in every state… check out via your DMV

          1. LauraR says:

            @CateS, Kelly is in Australia, which is metric. 60 or 70 kph is 37 – 43 mph. Still not good, though.

  3. Deb Marlowe says:

    I am, unfortunately, a sarcastic driver. Which means I have spawned both a sarcastic aspiring driver and a sarcastic back-seat driver.

    Hanging my head in shame…

    1. Julia London says:

      I have apparently engaged in several running monologues about people who buy fast cars and then drive them slow. I mean, according to what it parroted back in the peanut gallery

  4. Sandi in OH says:

    I seldom have anyone in the car with me when I drive so I just drive. Doesn’t make sense to make comments, etc. when there is no one to hear me.

    1. Julia London says:

      Sandi, that’s when I’m at my most colorful! :-)

      1. E.R. says:

        Agreed. I’m more “vocal” when I’m driving alone.

  5. LoriHandeland says:

    I’m a pretty timid driver. I have a huge car. I feel kind of bad that little car drivers can’t see around and over me. I understand when they whip around and then back in front of me.

    I have been yelled at. I usually just keep driving and pretend I don’t see. I try not to yell. I will mutter things like, “Drive it like you own it.”

    The dumbest thing I’ve ever done driving is to take a bus load of kids to a football game in a snowstorm. Dumb, dumb, dumb. They closed the interstate, we were driving on back roads that were also closed. We eventually got there and by the time the game was over the snow had stopped but I still have nightmares.

    1. Julia London says:

      Dumb dumb dumb, Lori. I have to agree :-)

  6. AmyS says:

    I don’t commute anymore, so I don’t get as stressed out when driving now. I used to commute about 1.5 hours to and from work everyday, and anything that made that drive longer caused me to blow my top. The worst were drivers that would sit out in the fast lane and would not move over and let anyone by. There were times that I was so frustrated by this, that I would sit on their bumper and flash my lights, this worked well in the winter when it was dark on my drive home, but in the summer I had to settle for throwing up my middle finger and swearing. A lot of swearing.

    Now, I tend to be mindful of the fact that I have kids in the car, so I am very calm and respectful. The odd time my old road rage self can come to the surface, but I keep a firm leash on her.

    The dumbest thing I ever did was venture out to work in thick fog. It was so thick I couldn’t even see the houses across the street. Sure enough there was a major 30 car pile up on the highway, of which I was involved. Luckily I was not hit, but you could hear, but not see the cars around hitting each other. I was lucky I wasn’t hit, but I spent 4 hours sitting on that highway waiting for things to clear.

    1. Julia London says:

      Amy, that is so scary!! I am glad you came out unscathed.

  7. Kelly Ryan Watson says:

    I used to be a drive like heck take chances driver, but not so much anymore. I have calmed it down a lot over the years.

    I am a person who is intolerant of many things. When driving I just have to remember that I live in NC, where many of these beautiful rednecks think they are NASCAR drivers. Even in saying that I am a redhead, and my temper gets the best of me sometimes. I do need to practice that yoga breathiing thing more often. Most times the only one yelling at me is the passenger in my vehicle!

    I’ve done many stupid things behind the wheel. Do I have to share? Ok. I’ll make it quick. My vehicle was being worked on so I had to borrow my mom’s. Driving home one day I took my eyes off the road. The tires hit the shoulder of road, I over-corrected and lost control. I flipped and totalled the vehicle. I climbed from the vehicle and had to walk about a mile to the first available house. (Pre cell phone era) Yeah… I felt pretty lucky that the crash, and my father, didn’t kill me.

    There was so many things in this blog I could comment on. I once told my brother that parking lot design was a six month night course. He believed it! Amazing how they design them with little to no thought. I’m zipping it now.

    1. Julia London says:

      Kelly, you sound like a sister from another mother. I have not yet flipped a car, but I feel like you behind the wheel on some days.

  8. Barbara Samuel says:

    I have been a timid driver. My dad was a state patrolman and he’s the one who taught me to drive, so I was always afraid. I never had decent ars, either, so they could die at any moment.

    When I bought a new little car after my divorce, I felt confident, and started driving everywhere. It wasn’t fast driving, however–if I had to accelerate to go up a hill, I had to turn off the air conditioning. So I’m pretty sure drivers cursed me.

    However, one week ago, I bought a new car, and now I’m much faster! whee! I will tell you all about it next week.

    1. Julia London says:

      Hooray! New cars are so much fun and I can’t wait to hear about it

  9. Pesky says:

    OK so…I gotta admit. I’ve had my moments. Extreamly infrequently, as the Bombshell is wont to point out to me. I’m overly patient.

    Patience was learned the hard way however. I was stopped about 1/4 mile back from a stoplight when it turned green and traffic had not yet started to move. An Armoured car proceeded to come out of a bank parking lot, saw the green light and gunned it…right into the back of my car. This is where my back injuries came from in my 20′s.

    When I want to scream at granny or drive around them, I just don’t. I wish the driver of that armoured car had the same paitence.

    The driver of the car had all the excuses in the world, said I was faking it, said that he didn’t hit me that hard (yeah…car totalled. His, the grille needed to be replaced.) But the truth is, he didn’t mean to do it, he was impatient and now I have 7 ruptured discs and severe arthritis.

    I have an agreement with my employer, I can flex my mornings, up to an hour. I’d rather get there late, then dead.

    1. Julia London says:

      Oh Pesky, that is awful!! So sorry for you.

      1. Pesky says:

        No worries. :D All in all my life is good.

  10. Julie says:

    Well girlfriend, I know where you’re coming from being from your neck o’the woods. ;) Austin traffic can be downright hellish, but what still gets me is when people either at the beginning of a merging lane and back traffic up, or when they wait until the last second and force their way in–talk about passive/aggressive. ;) They have a mile stretch of road with which to build up speed and merge with traffic, but do they?? Um…no.

    I’m usually ok when I drive, but I do have my cranky moments. ;) I know how it feels when you are not sure where you’re going so you’re driving a little slower and hesistant. I’ve definitely been yelled at–once at a stop sign when I did NOT have a stop sign and the other person did, and he didn’t stop and rolled down his window to call me a dumb a$$… I’m thinking to myself, “IIIIII am the dumb a$$???? I didn’t blow by a stop sign, moron….” but I would do me no good to get in a battle of wits with an idiot, so I just went on my way. ;) But, it’s the people on the cell phones that really drive me mad–texting and talking. Some people simply do not multi-task well, and in Austin traffic, it’s essential to pay attention because idiots are everywhere and they do NOT pay attention. ;)

    I guess what seems so bad to me is that so many people don’t use common courtesy anymore…don’t use turn signals, don’t let people merge when a lane is ending, don’t hold open doors when someone is behind you, etc. I was raised to try to ALWAYS try to be nice—unless someone gives you a reason to NOT be nice, and then try harder to be nice. It will either confuse them or piss them off. ;) Then, be firm. If that doesn’t work, make them regret not being nice to you in the first place. I can verbally rip someone to shreds if need be (and it never ceases to entertain my kids when I rip someone a new one), but I try not to have to do that. ;)

    1. Julia London says:

      Oh, I didn’t even touch on texting. It’s maddening and dangerous. I will not do it. I don’t care how loud my phone beeps. And I can’t stand it when people do.

      I’m with you Julie. When did we stop being nice? I always think of that quote attributed to Plato: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” So true!

  11. Sabrina Jeffries says:

    Well, when my son was three, he burst out with a cuss word in the back seat, and I was horrified . . . until a few days later when I used that very word when someone cut me off. Oh, and he’s mostly nonverbal, so that means he REALLY got a sense of the importance of that word. Does that tell you anything about my reaction to drivers? :-) Apparently, poor Nick assumed that when you’re driving along, periodically you burst out with a cuss word for no apparent reason.

    With that said, however, I’ve seen people do extreme things–like the guy the other day who didn’t like that I slowed down momentarily in a parking lot. Not only did he lay on the horn, but after I pulled out, he zoomed up in front of me, slammed on his brakes, drove slow for a few miles (which was fine since he was still going the speed limit), then zoomed off, weaving in and out of cars. I just laughed at him. Clearly, he had more issues than I did.

    1. Julia London says:

      Sabrina, it is quite amusing your son believes you periodically just let one fly when behind hte wheel, LOL!

      Yeah, drivers who need to teach lessons are the WORST. I was married to one. Ruined an anniversary dinner because some guy cut him off. It went from bad to worse

  12. Ginger Robertson says:

    Yes, I’ve done some dumb things and thank God, I wasn’t hurt nor anyone else. And, I’ve been on the other side where others have done the stupid driving. Yes, most of the time I am by myself, and I have been known to say a few choice words to other drivers. The good part is, that now, I hardly ever get on the interstate, so all is pretty good.

    1. Julia London says:

      Ginger, I wish I could avoid it!

  13. Amanda says:

    I consider myself a decent driver. DH taught me how to drive fast, and nothing gets to me more than people with NASCAR bumper stickers driving in the left hand lane slow, while the far right lane has become the fast lane.

    One day in the Wal-Mart parking lot (why does everything happen there?), I pulled nose-out in one of those angled spaces. A woman in a SUV wanted my spot, which was fine, but she wouldn’t back her car up to give me room to make a wide turn out. I couldn’t go any direction, and there was no one behind her. I mouthed “back up” to her, and waived my hand in a “back up” motion. We sat and stared at each other. Luckily, the car next to me left, she took their space, and I was clear to drive forward. I just couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t back up a little to give me room to get out of the spot.

    I’ve written about my Camaro here before. Well, kids and I were on our way home, and teenage boys like to race. They were in a beater. Seriously, this car was comprised of three cars put together, judging by the paint. I went to pass and they sped up. I dropped to forth gear, gunned it and shouted at them “Don’t F with me in your piece of S car!” The kids were appalled and surprised. I had to apologize for my behavior. Bad Momma.

    1. Julia London says:

      Hahaaa! Amanda I love that! Oh, that made me laugh :-)

      1. Claudia Welch says:

        Amanda! I LOVE YOU!!!!

    2. Cheri Champagne says:

      Haha! I love this story :)

    3. E.R. says:

      Ditto. Hilarious story!

  14. Claudia Welch says:

    I’m just like you, Julia. I’m the perfect driver in an imperfect world. Until I realize I’m not.

    Dumbest thing I ever did in a (moving) car: I was a senior in high school, driving my car, and the boy I liked was sitting in the passenger seat. I was flirting with him, eye to eye, as I came to a stoplight. I “tapped” the rear bumper of the car in front of me. Just a tap. Nothing to get insurance involved over. But it didn’t help my flirting one bit.

    1. Julia London says:

      Men have the been the cause of many a traffic accident is my guess

      1. Claudia Welch says:

        That was my takeaway.

  15. Christie Ridgway says:

    I’m a patient driver =unless= I’m running late. Hate to be late to anything, even to hair salon where I invariably must wait. I learned my mostly Zen-like calm from a couple of years commuting on SoCal freeways 45 minutes each way (on a normal day).

    1. evlqn says:

      Years ago we worked in N.Hollywood and lived in Venice, I hated the 405 with a rabid passion and lived for the top of Mulholland Dr especially on Friday nights. Worst night of my life was driving from San Diego to Ventura on a Friday evening, by the time I hit Muholland I was hallucinating that my brakes were failing. Anyone who can survive SoCal freeways can survive anything.

    2. Julia London says:

      Commuting will definitely do it for you. since I don’t commute anymore, it seems my patience is even shorter

      1. evlqn says:

        As a general rule I spend about two hours a day in the car, picking up & delivering, running errands and stuff. In a little while i will be heading out to pay bills, I know I can do them online but I usually prefer walking them in.

  16. Carla C says:

    This is too funny.. there is a running joke in my house – I normally don’t curse (I catch myself, like shut the ffffront door) but I become a sailor with tourettes. I try to breath, try to take life into account for some drivers, but the one that almost hit me because they were texting, or the person honking behind me when I am at the light that says NO Turn On Red, or when there are no cars behind me but this person must pull out in front of me. I live in a diverse area and get a lot of snowbirds – believe it or not, they drive like they don’t have tomorrow (maybe they just want to take someone with them when they go) – they race to the grocery store, to the mall, to the 10 am tee off. And yes, they are in the big cars (with bigger insurance) and the knowledge that time is just catching up, they just want you (and every other car) out of the way.
    The craziest thing behind the wheel – I was a crazy teen, I drag raced at night on backroads, I car surfed, I hill jumped (yes, like the Dukes), once when the cicadas were out, one flew into my car that I parked the car in traffic and ran out of my car (I Hate Bugs, especially ones that can find themselves in my hair and have red crazy eyes). Now I am that person you pull next to that sings and bounces to the music and looks contrite when I am caught.

    1. Julia London says:

      I had a VW bug in high school. The stories that car could tell. A guy at my HS reunion told me we got 12 people in that thing. Me: Was I there? Had completely blanked on it!

  17. kez says:

    I live in a college town where everytime you get in your car you are taking your life into your own hands. Every bad behavior that could be dreamt has been seen in our little town – my personal favorite was the girl putting on her mascara as she was talking on the phone DRIVING! Do I yell at drivers? You bet I do, often and loudly.

    I can still get aggressive when driving on the interstate – especially when it is the 10 hours between Ohio and Wisconsin – but never in our little town. You must use your best defensive driver skills.

    Most stupid driving? Driving home from Atlanta in the Appalachian Mountains, right after Christmas, I passed a very large truck going uphill. The visibility was poor and I put the lives of my family in jeopardy. I have never forgotten that bout of stupidity. Thanks for bring up that nightmare!

    1. CateS says:

      Do you have a high rate of foreign students… man, they are the worst drivers around here… The first days of every semester are crazy… they don’t look at turn lanes..signal [ok not many people signal] and drive a lot faster.

      1. kez says:

        Yep. And they drive VERY expensive cars. I have students in Lexus, Jaguars, BMWs and Mercedes. What is that all about? Seriously.

    2. Julia London says:

      Lets just call it a gentle reminder :-)

  18. Cheri Champagne says:

    I’m one of those people that doesn’t drive. My husband is the driver in the family… though I do get upset with reckless drivers. I can deal with slow drivers, but when someone cuts into our lane without a signal or can’t seem to keep themselves between the lines on the road, then I get upset. I don’t wave my hands about, screaming, but I might say something like “woah, buddy! Watch what you’re doing!” “Get out of our lane!” or “nice signal.”

    I won’t let my husband flip someone off, no matter how much he may want to. There have been too many cases in the news about road-raged drivers getting out of their cars and beating people up, or running people off the road. Several deaths have occurred due to this, and it freaks me out a little bit.

    1. Julia London says:

      Me too! I don’t get why people get SO upset.

  19. evlqn says:

    Mostly I just mind my own business and do my driving. Both of the g-sons are getting to be driving age 15/16 and for the past two or three years when we go somewhere I explain the reasoning behind what I do behind the wheel; such as letting another car go ahead of us. The other morning on the way to school Mr 16 and all that said when HE drives he not going to let others get in ahead of him. And I told him if he is in such a hurry that one car length is going to make a difference, he is already late and should have started out earlier.

    That is my responsible, higher self talking, however last week we were trying to get from Eugene to Bend, Or for b-ball games and we were running behind. This is a journey of nearly three hours on sometimes two lane mountainous roads. For nearly twenty miles I was stuck behind an out of state lowland driver who was barely doing thirty and continually hit the brakes to slow down even further. My higher self went for coffee and didn’t come back for quite a while. The only thing that saved the air from turning blue was Colman, a delightfully funny young man with deep religious convictions and who expects us to act like adults (drat!) was a ride-a-long.

    1. Julia London says:

      Evlqn, LOL! My higher self is frequently on coffee breaks.

  20. Janae says:

    I’m a relatively mellow driver until I get within the vicinity of our house. I place the blame solely on the parents who have children at the parent participation school across the street. These people think that they are extra special and that the traffic laws don’t apply to them. Within the last month I was nearly hit by one parent, who was driving on the wrong side of the road, and nearly hit by another one when I was in the middle of the crosswalk on the same day. After the near miss with the head on collision, I came home and emailed the principal. I told her to, ‘Please send out a reminder to your parents that we do in fact live in the United States where we drive on the right side of the road…Your parents are not only a nuisance, but they are a hazard to anyone who lives or visits this neighborhood because of their blatant lack of regard for the traffic laws.’ I, also, informed her that I would be talking to the police department to ask for more patrolling during morning drop off and afternoon pick up.

    I haven’t heard back from the principal, but I have noticed that the parents are more mindful. I don’t expect it to last long, though.

    1. evlqn says:

      Janae, that reminds me of when we lived near the end of the paved street and everyone would drive like a bat out of hades. Mom got tired of it and complained to the the police and city council that kids played around there and were in danger. They asked her how many kids played in the area and she said about 39. A couple weeks later the city put up a huge 8 by 10 sign that said “Caution:39 children play her.” That sign stayed there for over 20 years.

      1. Janae says:

        People are crazy. They don’t think about the people in the neighborhood at all. I’m surprised we don’t have more accidents in the neighborhood. We have a friend who’s a teacher at the school, and they have a hard time with the parents. I told her that their monthly parent meeting needs to cover how they should treat the neighborhood.

    2. Julia London says:

      That’s crazy! People do that at the mailbox, too, and really, most of them that I see could stand to get out and walk a few steps across the street.

      1. Janae says:

        The parents have blocked my mailbox and driveway before. One time a mom was in the apron and waved us on by. I rolled down my window, told her that she needed to move, so we could get to our house. When school started this year, I put this sign in red on my mailbox: DO NOT BLOCK MAILBOX OR DRIVEWAY. I will call the police. No one has done either. The sign went down a couple of weeks ago when we had the mailbox painted when we painted the house. Still no one is parking there.

  21. Philip Shaw says:

    I’m a reformed driver. I joined CADAR http://www.cadar.org.uk/ and they cured me of some bad (but not terrible) habits. Now I (mostly) stick to the speed limits that have been imposed for a reason and am much more observant. Plan A is not to have an accident, no matter if it’s the other driver doing stupid things. A year ago I sat an advanced driving test with a Police Examiner and got a silver grade. I now have two years to improve and try again to get the gold standard.

    1. Julia London says:

      Very cool, Phillip! I have never heard of the organization.

  22. cail says:

    People around here are really nice drivers. Everyone waves and lets people cut into traffic and the likes. You can tell who the out of towners are in the summer when they don’t alternate at our very busy intersection…

    1. Julia London says:

      Cail, you always sounds like you are living in a very sweet part of the world. Seriously. It sounds idyllic to me

  23. Cyndi C. says:

    Ok. Shamefully, I have to admit to the worst case of “Road Rage” known to mankind. I know, it’s disgusting. In my defense, I got my license at the young age of 15, and was driving a school bus in some of the worst traffic in the world (Myrtle Beach, SC traffic during the fall tourist season) by the age of 16. I managed to survive the experience with only minor damage to my psyche. Now, I can’t get behind the wheel where I do not automaticlly start to scream at any unfortunate person who happens to be on the road at the same time. My son told me something one that that managed to stick in my brain. He said, “Mom, I can really tell that you have a massive case of road rage.” “Oh yeah? How can you tell?” I asked. “Your Tourette’s starts showing….” (I don’t have Tourette’s, but I will use that as my excuse next time.)

    1. Julia London says:

      haaa…I had to go pick up kids again today, and I was super mindful of my frame of mind in Friday afternoon traffic with two impressionable young brains behind me. Took every bit of strength I had to keep my mouth shut.

      I’m not nearly as patient as I’d like to pretend

  24. Sharlene Wegner says:

    I generally have little patience for people driving under the speed limit. I always have to be somewhere. I am the meanie that screams within the confines of the car & no one knows (unless my daughter is in the car – she’s 13 – she will get over it!)I did actually honk the horn at these 2 guys in a construction truck the other day that were on my street driving reeeeealy slow & looking at each other talking. They made me miss a light at a t-intersection that is really short & takes forever to get green again. I once saw a bumper sticker that said “How come I’m the only one who knows how to drive?” Yep,that’s me!

    1. Julia London says:

      I gotta get me one of those stickers, Sharlene

  25. Freshechelle says:

    I have this fantasy, see? I’m on the 405 in SoCal stuck in the senseless traffic (you know the kind, no accidents or construction, just slow because California’s aren’t in a hurry and like the rest of America, don’t know that the left lane is the passing lane I which you must pass and then move back to the right), when I suddenly flip open my door. Oops, sorry motorcycle jerk squeezing btw the lanes of traffic guess you’re going heed over heels.

    1. Julia London says:

      He has it coming, driving like that. I’ll back you up, Fresh

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