Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Just another manic...Tuesday...

I live on a road that is currently being demolished...er...uh..."improved"...by the GA DOT.  It's not much fun right now, because there are no back roads for me to take - I have one exit to my neighborhood, and it dumps right into a huge mess.  So even basic errands are incredibly stressful right now, and likely to be for 9 months.  I do my best to be patient and let people out.  The way I see it, we all have to help each other.  But some days...I'm just not in the mood.

Today was one of those days.  I was on the phone with a doctor's office that I've been tangling with since January.  It's been one thing after another, and today's call featured the hysterical, brand new office manager who apparently does not know the policies of her own practice.  After a 90 minute phone call that STARTED with her shrieking and crying at me (yes, there WILL be a letter!), I said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go.  I need to pick up my children.  I will call you back tomorrow."  I hung up on her shouting, "This isn't resolved ye-"

So now it's time to tangle with the traffic to get the girls from PreK.  When I exit the PreK, four year-olds securely buckled, I turn right, turn left into a parking lot, and then turn right out of there to get back home.  It doesn't take anywhere NEAR as long as making a left out of the PreK!  Most of the parents use this method.  I have a limited amount of time in which to accomplish this, as I have to beat my eldest daughter's bus from elementary school.  So time is of the essence, and when I'm crabby, like today, it's hard to let others out and be charitable.

Usually I make the first right turn in two minutes.  Today I had to wait six minutes.  Not a happy camper here...and the non-stop wave of noise from the back seat isn't improving things.  Then I have to make the left.  Where I'm turning left, on the right side of me, is another shopping center.  As I'm sitting and waiting for a break in traffic, a lady in a silver minivan pulls up.  She attempts to make hopeful eye contact with me, as she wants to turn left.  I'm not having it.  Sorry - I know.  I'm a bad person today.  Today I'm owning it.  A break comes up, and I start to turn left.  I'm on the roadway.  She's on the side road waiting to turn ON to the roadway.  Bad news for her - I have right of way.  So I'm turning.  She suddenly peels out of the shopping center and shoots in front of me.  I slam on my breaks and hit my horn (I just had a feeling she was one of those drivers...).  She gives me a dirty look but continues.  Really?  I get it, I do...but does NO ONE know the rules of the road anymore???

The man coming towards me sees all of this, stops, and lets me go.  I wave a thank you and turn into the grocery store.  There is another entrance just a little down the road.  As I'm driving through the parking lot, this woman squeals into the other entrance, driving like a maniac, and pulls to a screeching halt about a foot from my bumper.  The second time today this witch has made me slam on my brakes!!  I hit the brakes so hard the twins actually react to it.  "Mommy?  What's happening, Mommy?  Why did we stop??"  She gets out of her van and stomps towards me.  She's not a little woman, and she's her heavy stomp says she's definitely not happy.  I roll down my window, praying I can make it home in time.  She storms up and says, "Are you a Christian?"

Why, hello to you, too.  This is how I start all my conversations...I replied, "I'm not sure the bearing of that request, but please move your vehicle, I need to leave."  I'm trying to be adult here...

"If you were a Christian," she continues, "You would know how to behave and treat others nicely.  Do you have any idea how long I sat waiting to turn left?"

Me: "Yes, I saw you pull up AFTER I had been sitting for a couple of minutes waiting to turn left.  Are you a licensed driver?"

She paused, totally taken aback by that. "Of course I am!  Shut up!  I'm tal-"

Me: "OK, if you are, then you can answer my question.  Who has the right of way - the person on the road, or the person entering the roadway?"

"Excuse me??? "

Me: "Like it or not, I had the right of way.  Now get back into your van and leave.  If you continue to block me, I'm calling the cops!"

She was really angry at this point.  "I really hope you grow up and act like a Christian!  I'm gonna pray for you to see the error of your ways!"  She turns back to her van.

I started laughing.  This was absurd!  She's going to pray for ME to be a Christian?  Yes, I know I could have let her out.  But the law says I'm not required to.  And now she's accosting me in a parking lot taking me to account for HER bad driving??  "Ma'am, amazingly enough, that makes two of us.  Good luck with that growing up thing."

She stops and whirls about, eyes bulging as she begins shouting obscenities at me (like any good Christian, right?).  I put my van in reverse and cut through rows to get to the other exit.  As I put on my turn signal, I see this woman whip around to get back to her van, ostensibly to cut me off.  In the process, her foot slips off of the step to get into her van, and she falls on the ground.  Now I'm torn.  I know I should go back and check on her, but the elementary bus is driving past me, and today I don't have anyone as back up to get my eldest.  I see the woman get up heavily.  Her face is red, but not from blood.  A gentleman from my neighborhood (who sees me get my daughter from the bus every day) honked and motioned me to turn in front of him.  My worry about having to chase the bus won out.  I got to the neighborhood just as my daughter's bus pulled around the corner, and picked up my child.

Out of curiosity, what line in the Bible justifies road rage?


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