Life of Pride
Friday, July 15, 2005
One of the hardest places for me to keep my patience is on the road. People pull into miniscule spaces in the lane in front of me without bothering to signal. They inch forward in the lefthand lane so that I cannot see around them to turn right. And my pet peeve of all pet peeves - they scrum up against my back bumper and hang only a few feet away because I am going "only" seven miles over the speed limit and there are three cars in the lane in front of me. I hate, hate, hate it when people get that close. It is stupid and dangerous, and above all, pointless. What is it supposed to accomplish?
I've often wished that cars had a rearwards horn as well as a frontwards one. Or perhaps, better yet, a button that caused it to emit a black puff of smoke from its back end. Some way to signal to the person behind that he is raising my stress level.
I have to keep reminding myself, over and over again, that when I am on the road my main purpose is not, contrary to expectations, to get to my destination in the shortest possible time. Nor is it my job to make sure that people who act moronically "learn their lesson." I need to do everything, even driving my car, peaceably, as an ambassador for Christ.
I've often wished that cars had a rearwards horn as well as a frontwards one. Or perhaps, better yet, a button that caused it to emit a black puff of smoke from its back end. Some way to signal to the person behind that he is raising my stress level.
I have to keep reminding myself, over and over again, that when I am on the road my main purpose is not, contrary to expectations, to get to my destination in the shortest possible time. Nor is it my job to make sure that people who act moronically "learn their lesson." I need to do everything, even driving my car, peaceably, as an ambassador for Christ.
Comments:
Good thought, but I don't have bumper stickers, and my license plate is solid white with blue letters. :P
Since you're an "ambassador" the other alternative is to get diplomatic plates. Then you can get away with murder. ;)
-Gabi
-Gabi
# posted by 
: 9:53 AM
: 9:53 AM
Get one of those bumper stickers that says "Back off!"
I don't know how that would help a Christian testimony, though...
I've never driven in Missouri, so I'm not sure how drivers are there. Here you know they are crazy -- every one in a hurry, every man for himself -- and the closer you get to DC, the worse it gets. I don't get annoyed very often when I drive -- perhaps because I'm one of the more aggressive drivers myself, weaving in and out of traffic and reading 55 as 63. People more aggressive than me simply make me feel bemused as long as they don't put me in imminent danger. Florence is rather slow accelerating or going up hills, and I find myself apologizing to the cars stacking up behind me: "I'm sorry. I'm working on it. There is a left lane, you know..."
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I don't know how that would help a Christian testimony, though...
I've never driven in Missouri, so I'm not sure how drivers are there. Here you know they are crazy -- every one in a hurry, every man for himself -- and the closer you get to DC, the worse it gets. I don't get annoyed very often when I drive -- perhaps because I'm one of the more aggressive drivers myself, weaving in and out of traffic and reading 55 as 63. People more aggressive than me simply make me feel bemused as long as they don't put me in imminent danger. Florence is rather slow accelerating or going up hills, and I find myself apologizing to the cars stacking up behind me: "I'm sorry. I'm working on it. There is a left lane, you know..."
