~ honest. sincere. embarrassing. funny. with a healthy dose of sarcasm. ~
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Saturday, January 12

Bad Temper?? Who Me, Officer??

I've been pretty honest about my bad temper. I have written about it plenty of times before. Garnet thinks it's cute and fiesty....god love him. I know it's a vice, and a force to be reckoned with -- but I never thought it could have the potential to get me a ticket!!

I had worked all day and was on my way to pick up Tim from school. I was at a stop light - ready to turn left. I am used to bad drivers around this area -- there is a bingo hall and a border crossing within 500 metres of this particular stoplight. Not that I am saying old people and Americans are bad drivers....I have just made some observations, and may have been on the defensive and ready for an attack.

There was a car in front of me that started turning left, when the light turned green. He pulled out into the intersection, turning into the oncoming lane and then decided to straighten back out and wait....because OH MY GOD I THINK I MAY SEE HEADLIGHTS, THERE IS A CAR!! This driver then decided to wait for the other oncoming vehicle that was off in the distance -- faint headlights creeping towards the intersection from miles and miles** down the road. It took the ENTIRE length of the green light to wait and then turn after waiting for this car.
(**this post may contain some slight exaggeration)

Needless to say I was not sitting patiently waiting while this person decided to waste time --- my precious time. My hands 'may' have flown up in an exaggerated fling in the air so that this person could see my obvious frustration in their rear view mirror. Although they couldn't hear the dirty words coming out of my mouth - I knew that they'd be able to see my lips flagging and cursing and that was enough satisfaction for me. I ripped through the yellow light behind them.....because I too had been out wating in the intersection since the initial "oh, i might turn here....or....maybe not"

As they turned I saw the logo on the side of the car door, indicating the student driver behind the wheel. I felt sad. I may have shown them a little more patience if I had know that they were just learning. But my sadness was quickly replaced by horror when I saw the cop car out my rear view mirror. He had been stopped at the red light perpendicular to me and it hadn't even occured to me until now. He had been watching the whole thing. And I looked like a jackass.

Sure enough - the lights went on and I pulled over, even using my signal to pull over. My heart started beating a million times a minute - I had never been pulled over before. I rolled down the window and met the nice officer who was trying to make small talk first, asking me if I was just getting off work. Then he got down to business;

"Perhaps before you yell at student driver's -- you should learn the rules of the road yourself."

"Uhhh, I'm sorry?" yeah, cause you didn't look like an idiot enough -- now you have to make yourself sound like one?

"You do realize that you were stopped in the cross walk and then ran through the amber light?"

"Uhhh, really?" Again, an idiot soaked response, you idiot.

"And that running an amber is the same fine as running a red? Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

He paused a moment to let my bad choices sink in to kill my pride a little and I mustered up the courage to say something that I thought would save me.

"For the record I didn't know that it was a student driver - that's not why I was yelling at them....I would have yelled at them if it was anyone."

"Yes, that's reassuring." He said flatly.

And, grande finale of idiotness; taaa daaa!!-- I was done.

Thankfully, I didn't get a ticket -- just a stern warning, and a big bruise to my ego. I drove like an angel fresh out of driver's school myself for the rest of the day. And now, I look around a little bit before I yell at the guy in front of me........

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hillarious!!
I'm tyring to think of a funny way of referencing your temper and driving habits to what you learned from dad, but that will get me in trouble right?
so I won't go there..


xo

Trotsky said...

Why are you mean to people?

Jessi said...

hey!?! i'm nice......most of the time. You know you've yelled at student drivers too. Admit it...
How are all the lightbulbs in your house? Should I come over and change a few?