With tempers flaring in winter, road rage still getting nasty
People are going nuts out there. OK, nuttier than normal.
Every study I read suggests that this pandemic has messed with peoples’ heads, and as a result, there aren’t enough psychiatrists, psychologists, or licensed social workers to help them all. So, the fact that there will be more crazies walking among us is just something we’ll have to get used to both now and in the near-distant future.
The pandemic is one reason we’re seeing such abhorrent behavior these days, whether it’s airline passengers punching flight attendants, or people just going crazy, shooting their neighbor, the stories are all over the place if you look for them.
I ran into a nut job last week outside a chain restaurant in McAllen. When I can, I stay in my truck, park in the To-Go lane, one of them, and then phone inside, letting them know that I’m here to pick up my togo order. They then bring out our food so I don’t have to walk through a crowded entrance. Call me highly risk adverse when it comes to disease.
Last week, I went to the same restaurant, but couldn’t park because the rear of the truck parked one lane over was sticking over into the vacant lane next to it, the to-go lane, and there was no way my truck was going to fit into it. So, I parked perpendicular to the lane of cars and phoned inside. I figured if anyone came out and wanted to leave, I could back up my truck.
A small car pulled up, and the side window was rolled down, after which a woman asked if I could back up so they could park in the handicap lane, which is right next to one of the to-go lanes.
I said, sure, and backed up my pickup, noticing the one behind me. For me to get enough space to let in the handicapped folk, the other driver had to back up too.
By this time, the waitress has already walked my order out to the truck. She’s by the open passenger’s window. She’s nice and one of the regulars.
Then, I notice the pickup truck has now pulled up right beside me. At first I thought I knew him, but no, he was a complete stranger. I asked him what he needed, and he starts giving me lip about blocking an empty parking space.
Still thinking I might be dealing with a rational person, but not quite sure at this point, I told him, look, you couldn’t park your truck in there either. “There’s not enough space.”
By then he was already moving forward a little, but now he’s apparently flipping me off. In other words, he’s either off his meds or needs to be on some. The sooner, the better.
The waitress has already moved forward on the sidewalk, “Sir,” she’s yelling, “please stop, please stop.” It’s obvious, she doesn’t want this guy to go psycho in front of the place. It’s a Saturday afternoon. Plenty of people outside, waiting to get a table.
I’m thinking, ssshhhh, if he comes at me with a tire iron, I have legal justification in shooting him. One less jerk on the road. A holiday gift for the public at large. From me to you.
Oh, well, you can’t blame a guy for wishing.
I’m always thinking, though, if I’m ever put in a position of actually having to shoot someone to protect myself or someone else, it’ll probably be a guy tied to a big Mexican drug cartel. Maybe even the jefe.
Jefe been snorting meth all day and has just been told by his girlfriend that she’s leaving him for his cousin Juan, and now Juan has disappeared; and now his wife wants to divorce him because she’s in love with the pool guy; and Jefe is having anger-management issues, which is why I had to shoot him.
The guy I have in mind comes from a large family with a large presence on both sides of the river. To them, family comes first, and the moron, one Gregg Wendorf, has just killed one of his own.
His mama still cares: “Mi hijo was a good boy. Nunca criminal.”
Mama, your boy is a psycho who cuts off the heads of rival dealers and innocent people, but okay.
It’s true, though, with my luck, if I ever had to kill someone to either protect myself or someone else, it would probably be a big Mexican Mafioso type. Lots of family. Lots of lead. An eye for an eye.
Today, it’s even worse with this road rage. Trouble is, as this crazy pandemic period just seems to go on and on, unsettling the minds of more and more people, it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.
When I was teaching our son to drive, I’d always hammer into him the concept of avoiding road rage. Don’t engage with anyone; don’t make eye contact with them if they’re already giving signs of being off the mental grid. Just leave them alone.
It’s easy to say, but hard to do.
If I drive, say, only about 15 miles in Hidalgo County, because the traffic has become more dense, with more drivers on the road, I’ll surely run into at least three nut jobs on the road in that 15-mile stretch. One will be texting, not knowing if it’s day or night; the other will be riding my bumper with about a halfinch space between; and the other will exit the expressway from the far left lane, shooting across four lanes without even looking at the other traffic. Oh, can’t forget some crazy Snowbirds on bikes. One of them bumped into my rear bumper last year, telling me my pickup was blocking the bike lane, which just goes to show, crazy is crazy, no matter where you call home.
For these people, if you point out any of their transgressions, you immediately become the problem.
In all seriousness, though, the roads are become less safe than they were before the pandemic. For a lot of reasons, more people are unbalanced today than in years past. So avoid road rage and stay safe this holiday season.