Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Misplaced Sense of Rage

That's what I encountered today after I had picked up my son from day camp and was on my way to pick up my daughter from day care.

I was driving in the left southbound lane on South Oyster Bay Road when I noticed a young, tanned, brunette women in a dark blue car driving uncomfortably close behind me. The intersection for Old Country Road was about a hundred yards or more up ahead. The light was red and the cars ahead of me were slowing down and stopping. I took my foot off the gas pedal so that my car would gradually slow as I got closer to the rear car ahead of me, about 20 yards away.

I looked in my rear view mirror and saw brunette girl gesticulating wildly at me and mouthing words at me in effect that I should hurry up and go faster. But her request was absurd as the traffic ahead of us had stopped. I motioned with my hands towards the traffic light up ahead, and shouted out, in vain, that the light was red and what was the hurry? Her face became a mask of disgust as she shifted into the right southbound lane and pulled ahead of me.

But her gain would prove to be shortlived, as the line of stopped cars in the right lane was longer than in the left lane, where I remained. As I coasted past her, I turned my head to look at her with a smile on my face. I was greeted by her left hand with middle finger raised, her face turned away resolutely to avoid eye contact with me.

I couldn't help but laugh and enjoy my moment of schadenfreude as I ended up coming to a stop about six or seven cars ahead of her. If brunette girl had simply remained calm and followed behind me slowly, she would have been closer to the intersection than she was. At the same time, I was a little hurt. This young lady did not know anything about me, and yet because she was impatient and in a hurry, she had made me an object of hatred. I had not done a thing wrong to her, and again, if she had remained behind me and coasted to a stop as I had done, she would have been in a much better position than where she ended up. Call it a case of misplaced rage.

4 comments:

vjack said...

She was just showing you that finger to tell you that you're #1.

Guitanguran said...

Reminds of the old story about a driver doing pretty much all you described here in Texas being pulled over by the THP and forced out of their car. When the driver asked why the trooper had him spread-eagled on the hood of his car, the trooper said, "I saw what you did and the 'Jesus loves you' bumper sticker and figured it was a stolen car."

Stardust said...

Almost every single time someone passes me in that manner and gets all pissed off just because I am only going five over the speed limit, they end up right in front of me at the next exit or light and I love creeping up ever so close behind them with my big red van :-D I even wave at them sometimes. :-D

Stardust said...

the trooper said, "I saw what you did and the 'Jesus loves you' bumper sticker and figured it was a stolen car."

In reality the cop should not be surprised because xians can do whatever they want because they will be absolved from their sins by saying they are sorry to their imaginary friend.