road rage

I hope to speak about a few of the things I see every day that just don't make sense. Most of the things that don't make sense are just there. They don't bother me.......or I even like them. They are "cute". But I'll probably be dredging up the things that don't make sense that really bug me. I hate the expression "pet peeve". It's so trite that it's actually making a comeback. I've heard it used recently. But pet peeve doesn't describe my gripes here. Because you can dislike something that is sensible. You can dislike getting up for work for example. My gripe is with stuff that is ignorant, unfair, just weird, the hard way, wasteful, etc. I don't want to be too hard on people who are just not that bright. Or who have irrational fears that they can not help. Or maybe they were raised from infancy with a prejudice or hatred that is hard to shake off. Or as in my case, have "old timer's disease". OK here comes an example. Here in America we are all immigrants. The first generation immigrants can have a thick accent and broken English. I have a gripe with, and don't understand, how people can make fun of someone's broken English. Usually, almost certainly, the person making fun speaks only English. So this maid or gardener or busboy who talks funny is so "dumb". The interesting thing is that, this laborer is bilingual. He or she is fluent in English. So let the laughing American who makes fun of the way someone talks-- let him go to the laborer's native country and try to say one single sentence, he can't. How dare that jerk laugh at someone's accent when that someone is fluent in at least two languages. It's a stupid prejudice. OK. One more Geezer Gripe for this post and that's it for now. Everybody on the road driving thinks they are a better driver than everyone else. Except me. I know I am a lousy driver. I miss the turn I need. I get in the wrong lane. I go the wrong speed. I get lost and try to turn around. People honk at me. I admit it. I'm a bad driver. But luckily, I'm a safe driver. In 44 years of driving I have had one accident. I hit a deer not 4 miles from my house. On Thanksgiving Day 6 or 7 years ago. The deer was killed, the car was wrecked. My son and I were not hurt. It was so sudden that I didn't even get to hit the brakes. Other than hitting that deer, which could not have been prevented, I have not put a scratch on a car in 44 years. Now I've totaled 2 airplanes mind you, and maybe damaged a couple of others, but those stories belong in the other blog! So, I'm not a good driver, but I'm a defensive driver and I stay out of trouble. My defensive driving habits allow me to watch other drivers. I'm fascinated by "road rage". It comes at all different levels. Sometimes it's a guy who just shakes his head in disgust as he passes you because you're going "too slow". Or maybe someone flips the bird. Or they yell something. And if you read the news, you know what this behavior can lead to. I know what causes most road rage. If a person is a mean, nasty, SOB: he will be that way in his car too. If he has a bad temper, he'll have it in the car too. If he's a bully, he'll be a bully in the car. That makes common sense. But there's more. There is the almost classic case of Mr. regular nice guy. But when he gets behind the wheel, he is a madman. Everybody else is stupid. Everybody else is a bad driver. This guy never has a nice drive. That's the difference between Mr. normally nice and the bad temper or bully guy. The SOB, bad temper guy may have a good day going and he'll drive OK. He may even get in nasty traffic and still drive OK. But Mr. Normal Nice guy can never have a good time behind the wheel. Mr. Normally Nice is a lunatic behind the wheel because he is scared to death of the car. He's afraid someone will find out that he is a very, very poor and unsafe driver. He lashes out at other motorists before they can see his terrible secret. Road rage. My true gripe is tailgating.