Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Shaking Mad


I am physically shaking. Shaking mad.

Holy cow, I can't believe that just happened...

I was driving into work this morning and trying to exit off the west bound 202 freeway at 32nd Street. There are two lanes on the exit. Both were backed up, with three cars deep in front of me and growing numbers behind me. I was in the right hand lane. We were not moving.

I looked up ahead to see what the problem was, and sadly, very sadly, there was an old man riding his bike with far too many full Food City grocery bags laced across his handlebars and filling his front bike basket. His bike had apparently tipped from he weight just as he was crossing in front of the exit lane heading south on 32nd street, and he had groceries all over the road. The lady in the first car in my lane had gotten out of her car to help him pick them up and get his bike moved safely to the sidewalk so that the now piling up cars in the exit lanes could actually exit. The lady in the first car in the lane next to mine was halfway out of her car assessing the situation, but not helping.

Horns were honking from all around as I'm sure that none of the cars too far behind me could see the cause of the delay, although it had only been about a minute. Impatience abounds. Rush, rush, rush.

The aged biker man had just about cleared out of the way, when I saw a nice new white Ford F150 swerve out of the backed up traffic behind me so that he could four-by-four over the curb and into the gravel on the shoulder of the exit and be on his merry way. One problem with that - there's really not enough room to scoot a big F150 around on the shoulder when the shoulder is not that big to begin with and has a huge tree taking up most of it.

Clearly, he didn't care, so he tried to squeeze by anyway. And he clipped the side of my Tahoe in the process! I heard and felt a big "thud" as he went by and my eyes jumped out of my socket. He totally knew he clipped me as he looked out his window at me quickly then started to speed off. I caught the first two digits of his license plate before he turned right. I had no idea if or what kind of damage there was, but I didn't want him to get away. The thud was loud enough that it definitely could have left a mark or dent for sure.

I was honking at him and waving my hands in frustration and talking to him very loudly in my car (as if he could hear me.) About 15 seconds later, the cars in front of me moved and I was able to turn right too. I could see him up at the light at McDowell, but it turned green before I got there and he sped off like a bat out of hell. Same thing with the next two lights, but I was on his tail. By the time we approached the light at Indian School, I had gotten his license plate and then the light turned red. Ah ha! Gotcha.

I pulled up in the lane next to him and rolled down my window. He was all smiling and talking on his cell phone and then he looked over at me and saw that I was staring at him and he rolled down his window too, with his phone still to his ear.

"You wanna piece of me?"

No, just kidding. He didn't say that. But that's what he looked like he was gonna say after all semblances of smiles had instantly vanished.

I said in very even keeled albeit serious voice, "Hey, you clipped the side of my car back there when you were getting off the freeway."

Know what he came back with?

This, in the most angry, offensive and condescending voice I could even try to impersonate: "Go make up some other s**t lady, I didn't clip your car. I clipped your damn mirror. Get a grip, you're full of s**t. GROW UP!" And then he rolled up his window and turned right.

What the he-double toothpick?

Seriously, HE told ME to GROW UP!

How about, "Hey, I'm sorry about that. I thought I could squeeze by. It doesn't look like I did any damage to the car, though. Are we cool?"

Or, "Man, I was in a rush. So sorry. I thought it was just your mirror, though, so I didn't stop."

Nope. None of that.

Oh my gosh! I was fuming. Grow up? Me, the 39-year old mother of four, driving to work - the one who was patiently waiting for the senior citizen and his good Samaritan helper to move his fallen bike out of the way. The one whose car was clipped by an impatient 40-ish year old jerk driving a jacked up truck who couldn't wait 30 more seconds and decided to four-by-four off the shoulder to pass it all, clip my car in the process with not even so much as an apologetic wave or quick roll down of the window to check the potential damage and then drive like a banshee for three miles, all so that we could end up side by side at the same dang stop light. ME grow up?!!

Talk about road rage. This guy was wound up and mean and nasty from the get-go. I feel sorry for the person who has to wake up next to him every day.

Thank goodness it looks like he really did just hit my side mirror (hard) and that there is no discernible damage. The mirrors flex, which helped absorb the impact I'm sure.

What a way to start a Wednesday morning!

7 comments:

  1. Ew! I don't think there is anything that raises my blood pressure quicker than drivers like that! I feel for you! So rude! I wish I could invent a gun that only shoots their tires out. Mark always laughs at me for that one, but I do!

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  2. Oh my gosh, I'm fuming for you, my heart's racing. You paint the picture so vividly. But really, Kelli, Grow up. Just kidding - what a jerkstore!

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  3. I like Shari's comment. :)

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  4. So sorry - there are crazies out there for sure. I just read you comment on my blog about the chips, dips,chains whips and I was cracking myself up when I wrote it I don't think anyone else got it, thanks for confirming that I am not crazy. Miss our inside jokes we did have a ton.

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  5. You are feisty to chase down road-ragers.

    ....A few days later, and since you are okay, it's kind of funny.

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