Monday, September 04, 2006

Taking the low road

A couple of months ago, I was privy to the craziest road rage - a young woman in a white Mercedes (or maybe it was a BMW) SUV was tailing me and I, as is my habit, kept slowing down. This enraged the woman so greatly that she followed me home, stopped in front of my house and abruptly drove away when I got out of my car.

This incident came to mind today when a woman driving a black Lexus SUV (with a license plate holder that read "Happiness is Ice Skating" - just in case you know her) cut me off twice so closely that I was amazed she didn't hit me. I honked the second time, just as we were pulling up to a red light. She stuck her head out of the window and started yelling something to me - I couldn't hear what.

As angry as both of the incidents made me, what struck me even more was what incredible danger these women had put themselves in in the name of road rage. Granted, I'm not the most imposing looking person, but what if I was psychotic? Worse yet, what if I was psychotic and had a gun in my glove box? Such happenings are not unheard of, especially in situations in which adrenaline is flowing and people feel wronged.

If you know the woman with the black Lexus SUV, please advise her to be more cautious. While I pose no threat, others do and in serious ways.

As an unfortunate side note, not a half mile past the Lexus incident, a van passed me in the turn lane, not satisfied, apparently, that I was going 42 in a 35. A police officer sitting on the side of the road did nothing as the van sped by.

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