Thursday, January 31, 2008

Cheddar or swiss?

The lack of blog posts lately has been due to much stress at "A Different Bird' headquarters. I have actually completed a couple of items on my the 108 in 2008 list, but the list will be updated later due to a lack of time. And in place of an in-depth post, I'll just share a quick episode from my morning commute.

Do you know those special drivers that inch forward at a light, until they are so far out into the intersection that you are afraid they will be creamed by oncoming traffic? The ones who are going straight and think that by going forward those extra couple of yards they will make it across so much faster once the light turns green? Of course you do. Well, I was behind such a driver this morning on my way to work. And he kept inching dangerously close to the middle of the intersection. I kept thinking how this guy must have been in a huge hurry. He finally stopped and like the rest of us he waited for the light to change. And that is when I noticed his 'Honk if you love cheese' bumper sticker. I am always perplexed by any 'honk if you love ____' bumper sticker. And cheese? Seriously?

So, this guy must have suddenly realized that he needed to look really good for his destination, because he pulled down his visor and began checking himself out in the mirror. And what he saw must have been unbelievably engaging. Because when the light changed, as lights tend to do, he didn't move. So, I beeped my horn once as a courtesy for the 50 cars behind me (I do live in the Atlanta area - there are a lot of drivers!) and he didn't move. In fact, he didn't stop looking at himself in the mirror.

So, I did what any normal driver who grew up in Atlanta does. I sat on the horn. He finally looked back at me, raised his middle finger in a 'You're number one' salute and sped through the light just as it turned red.

And a number of drivers behind me honked their horns after he sped off.

They must really love cheese, too.

4 comments:

Meaghan said...

Love cheese. Hate bad drivers. I feel for ya!

Unknown said...

Sounds like he was probably a Yankee. Up north it's the norm to sit in the middle of the intersection waiting to turn - when I first moved here it annoyed me that people didn't. Not so typical to get lost looking at yourself in the mirror - not because people aren't vain, but because they are in a hurry and want to turn as soon as there is a space to squeeze into. And the "you're number one" salute - very northern.

Senegal Daily said...

I'd trust Kate. She's the most Yankee person I'm related to. :)

Chris said...

Sounds like a real winner. I hope he doesn't reproduce, but he probably already has.