Well, its been a very long time since I posted anything on Vettie’s Views. Some of the reasons are obvious if you have read my Blog. I lost my sister in a horrible car accident followed by having to take a couple of business trips. I really didn’t get time to grieve and I am still not sure if it has sunk in. I guess on of these days I will just sit down and have a massive cry.
The past three years have been pretty rough on Ol Vettie, I lost my mom to a very unexpected illness. I broke my lower back and had to have a fairly extensive surgery. The damage to my nerve bundle (the sciatic nerve) was bad, so bad that I had to learn to walk again, and even now I have trouble with my legs not always wanting to go where I want them to go. Then I had to have yet another back surgery because one of discs collapsed on top of another and caused the lower one to explode (yes, it really exploded, little pieces of bone fragments went as much as two inches away from the disc). Then my sister’s untimely death, not to mention my teenage daughter totaling a car in a head on collision with a SUV.
Yeah, I have had more fun in my life, but I guess it is all part of life, good times and bad. I am still alive and still kicking (and cursing and being generally a pain in the butt). I would like to say thanx to those of you who took the time to make a post about my sister and to those of you that just thought about me or even prayed for me, even if it was just a brief thought or prayer. Friends and family really help out in times like these and it means a lot, even if we forget to say thanx.
So, before I forget, thanx. Thanx to all of you.
Its been awhile since I had a good rant and now is as good a time as any. My rant is something that has most likely happened to you or you may have even done it yourself. As you can see from what I said above, my nerves are really pushed to the edge and it doesn’t really take a lot to set me off. When I was younger (and could move quicker), I was known to have a short fuse. Now, my fuse is MUCH longer, but once it is lit, well you will see.
Here’s the layout. Recently, my youngest step-daughter is on the colour guard for the high school band. She is a senior this year and she made ‘front line’. Front line, as they call it, is the line of ‘flaggers, or sabers, or rifles’ that is closest to the audience in a half-time show. She is very proud of herself and she works hard at the colour guard routines.
The Colour Guard have been having practices earlier in the mornings before it gets so hot. So typically, they start at 6.00a and practice until about 8.00a, except on Sundays. Sundays, they go from 7.00a until 8.30a, then they are excused for church and start up again about 6.00p.
The car that her mother and I have so graciously provided for her was in the shop having new tires installed and getting a general servicing. We had taken it on Saturday, but the shop said they were having a problem getting the tires and would not be done until Sunday afternoon. No big deal. Except that I forgot she had practice on Sunday morning. That meant that someone would actually have to get up and take her to school and pick her up. Well, you probably have a pretty good idea who ‘someone’ is, right? I didn’t really mind, because I normally get up between 6 and 6.30 anyway so I figured I would be awake.
Sunday rolls around and I wake her up so she can ‘get ready’ to go. I take her and drop her off at the school and I told her to call us when it was time to pick her up.
Its roughly 7.00a on a beautiful Sunday morning and I am awake and hungry. I decide to go to Hardees and pick up some breakfast to take home to the wife. She likes that and scoring some goody points with the wife never hurts, right?
Anyway, I head to the local Hardees. IT is located across a main road artery from where I live and this roadway is under heavy construction. The highway department is building and overpass over this particular intersection. At this east to west intersection, going west there are five lanes. Two lanes are for turning south (left) onto this major highway, two lanes are for going west (straight) into the parking lot of a shopping mall and two lanes are for turning north (right) onto the major highway.
No it is NOT a math error, five lanes, six options. The two northern most lanes (right hand lanes) are set up so that the farthest right lane is a right turn only lane. The lane adjacent to it is for going straight OR turning right.
I am going straight and after the intersection, I will be exiting into the parking lot of the Hardees. I can smell that sausage cooking from across the highway, hmmmm, sausage…
Anyway, as I mentioned, it is only 7.00a on a Sunday morning. I pull up to the intersection and stop because the traffic light is Red. This intersection is pretty busy during the week and the light cycle is roughly 3 minutes.
As I am sitting there, a couple of cars line up behind me and 2 cars enter the right hand turn lane.
I grab my (titanium) cane and get out of the car to see if I could assist this gentleman with whatever problem he is having with his horn. Now, Ol’ Vettie is not huge by any means, but he isn’t a small guy either. Ol’ Vettie is about 6’1” tall and weighs about 240lbs.
Early on Sunday morning, before I have had time grooming, I guess I can have the look of a deranged killer or something like a mad scientist, with lots of hair going in every direction and a pair of grey eyes (my eyes are hazel and they change with my moods) that are non-blinking and staring a burning hole into whatever I am able to focus on. I get out of my SUV with cane in hand and proceed to the vehicle behind me that has now apparently been able to ‘fix’ his horn because it is no longer honking or blaring.
The dude in the mini van proceeded to roll his window up nice and tight. I walked right to the drivers window (he was alone in the mini van) and I began to use my cane to rap on his window requesting that he roll his window down. He obliged and I asked him, in a nice calm voice, what the issue was. The conversation went something like this..
“WTF is your damn problem? Roll that damn window down or I will break the damn thing!”
He rolled the window down.
Again, in nice calm voice I screamed “Is there a freaking problem with your horn? Or did you want something?”
He mumbled something like “I think I made a mistake.”
Once more, in soft, calm demeanor, I spoke, “look dude, this as a go straight OR turn right lane. I am going straight and the light is red for straight. If you need to turn right you can get your light happy mini-van or in the right lane and turn whenever you wish. I suggest you get that horn of yours checked right away because others may not be as calm as me or may have even taken your horning blowing and gesturing as a threat of some kind. I don’t pack a gun, but others do. Also, Dude, if you are in that big of a hurry, why didn’t you leave a few minutes sooner? Nobody wants to hear that crap at 7.00a on a Sunday morning, so knock it off, Clear? One more thing dude, I know that when you turn and you get a ways down the road and I am out of your sight, you are gonna have thoughts about what you should have done. Well, I am here none so I suggest that you do whatever you think you should have done and do it quickly, but I must remind you that not only do I use this cane to walk with, I am pretty good at using for other purposes. I played college baseball (jr. college) and I had a very high batting average. I still play golf and my bat or club speed is still very fast if you care to find out. And just so you know, titanium does not bend when it meets bone. Or at least, it hasn’t yet.”
With that I turned and headed back to my car. I felt a lot better about helping a neighbor with his horn problem. Just as I got my seat belt buckled, the light for my lane turned green. I slowly started out into the intersection, in fact, I went so slow that the light turned yellow before I got past the ‘stop line’. That poor fellow with the malfunctioning horn was again stuck at the intersection. Damn…
My rant is this. People do not need to be so impatient with their fellow humans in traffic. You are driving or riding in a (roughly) 3000+ bullet. Those thing hurt when the hit you, so pay attention to what you are doing, especially when you are behind the wheel and for God’s sake, stay off your damn cell phone while driving.
It wasn’t too long ago, that we didn’t have cell phones. You know what we did back then? We actually spoke to one another face to face or we used a real telephone. We either waited until we got where we were going, or we stopped and used a pay phone. If you need to use the phone so badly, get off the road and so it so you can concentrate on the call and you don’t have to worry about that bullet you are driving.
Also, just a few short years ago, this country under went a terrible attack from terrorist that killed many innocent people. Shortly after that terrible day that we now know as 9-11, everyone (at least in my area) was overly nice to each other, opening doors for one another, waving other cars on even tho the waver had the right of way, people slowed down and appreciated what they had and each other. It seems now that all of that has been put once again on a back burner and its every man for himself, again. Maybe we should step back a little and look at what we have and once again be thankful we are alive and that by the Grace of God (whoever or whatever you God is) you have what you have. Take a minute and be nice to somebody that you don’t know. You might just make their day, and it damn sure wont hurt you.
Before you get in line in traffic and decide to see how well your stupid horn works, remember that there maybe someone in front of you that is a bigger a$$h013 that you. Remember that jerk just might get out of his vehicle and come to your window and see if he can help you with your damn horn. Also remember that if he has a cane that as of yet, not one bone has ever bent that cane and that stupid jerk just might not be afraid to use that cane.
You never know the pressures or pains or incidents that someone else is going through. Just because you are having a bad moment, doesnt mean the guy you are blowing your horn at hasn’t had a worse one. You don’t know what you don’t know. Yeah, I was wrong to get out of may car and go bang on this guys window and give him crap. But I opened his eyes a little and at least before he does that again, he will at least hesitate for a moment and remembers that big ol’ dumb@ss that beat on his window. People, it’s a small world and at least for now, we all have to live in it. Have a little respect for others.
Ok that is my rant. Vettie tells the readers he is an idiot. He tells the folks that early on a Sunday, Vettie does not appreciate the sound of a car horn blaring at him from behind. Vettie also tell the readers that the one finger salute with rapid waving is not something he completely understands at 7.00a on an otherwise quite and peaceful Sunday morning. He also mentions that he might have mistaken those gestures as a call from that driver for help as his horn was obviously stuck in the “BLOW LOUDLY NOW” position. After a brief discussion with his friendly neighbor, Vettie apparently helped the guy fix the horn by rapping on the car window with a walking cane. I don’t know if this works for every vehicle, but it does seem to work well on Dodge Caravans, I am guessing the horn has a direct link to the window up/down button, but I am not a mechanic so I don’t know for sure. You also learn that Vettie is adept a giving directions in the heat of traffic, help the distressed traveler find the correct EMPTY lane for turning and finally, you learn that Vettie offers sound advice in that if you need to get some where in a hurry that maybe you should leave sooner….
http://www.trunkmonkey.com/content/view/28/1/
