Red lights are the great equalizer in my race against the rest of humanity. I love passing people and happily do it, but they always catch up to me at a red light. Sometimes, I give myself points for the number and types of cars I pass on the way to work in the mornings. I do this without going more than five or so miles above the speed limit, because that’s all the more most people allow themselves to speed without feeling like they’re breaking the law, even though they are. I justify my behavior because it allows the car behind me to drive the speed limit with some cushion in case they have to accelerate to pass someone. I expect the same from drivers ahead of me.
I was driving to work this week and got stuck behind one of those giant hummers. Not one of the old, cool ones but rather, the kind created for upper middle class white people who like to waste gas. I knew it was going to be trouble because I approached it quickly, even though I wasn’t really speeding. I looked in the mirror to my left to see if I could get over to pass it, only to see a solid wall of cars. Glancing in my rear-view mirror confirmed my dilemma.
I let my foot off the gas and slowed from from 55 down to 50, 45, 40. I swerved left just a little to see if I could peek around the beast of an SUV in front of me. It swerved too. I centered myself in the lane again and watched as this car swayed from the dashed line that divided lanes back over to the solid, white line protecting the bike lane. This happened several times and caused me to begin the usual muttering that accompanies most of my driving.
“Get out of my way.”
“If you can’t drive the speed limit, are you equally bad at other areas of life too?”
“God, You can make them move, can’t You?”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, my gosh…”
“SERIOUSLY?! Are you still drunk from breakfast? You can’t drive in a straight line!”
Convinced this person would eventually kill me if I stayed behind them, I started trying to watch them and the open lane next to me as much as possible. After a stoplight and another mile of this torture, I finally had my chance. I flipped on my blinker, let it flash three times, then shot into the lane next to me and immediately could drive much faster. I peered over at the driver who had impeded my progress as I passed their car. A woman had cocked her mirror over and was putting her makeup on while driving to work. And states are making texting while driving illegal?
I merged back and floored it. The stretch of open space in front of the Hummer was sufficient for a Boeing to take off from and got me to my office without any other encounters with people who couldn’t drive.
In some cases, you can only go as fast as those in front of you. It’s these times that leadership had better have their crap together. Leaders with distractions make for annoying people to follow and nobody wants to be held back by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. In either case, these people can and will be passed at some point or another. It’s only a matter of time.
Dude…
Houston traffic would make you absolutely homicidal. And the only kind of Hummers we have down here are the kind that rich white people drive to waste gas.
And yeah, I agree about leadership needing to have their crap together. Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way. (In Christian love, of course. Always in love.)
Always in love. Traffic makes me grumpy but I’ve taken to reading when I’m not moving. It makes time go by so much faster. If I’m not doing that (light issues during the winter) I play my kazoo or sing. I’m basically ridiculous. And thanks for noticing the illustrations. I make all of them, even if they’re simple and THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER SAYS ANYTHING IS MY ROOMMATE until now. Kathy. You are my friend. 🙂
P.S. – You have the BEST blog photo illustrations ever.
Your blogs always hit close to home.
Thanks Mandy!!!
We would have fun driving next to each other. I’m the same way – even down to the usual mutterings of “get out of my way” and “if you can’t drive it, park it, lock it and throw away the keys.” I can’t stand slow, bad drivers.
As far as leadership – I’ve always had the mindset as a leader myself and in looking at those who lead me that you can only go where the leader in front of you has gone. I can’t take my students someplace in God that I have not been myself. I can’t challenge them to evangelize if I’m not evangelizing. I can’t help them worship God if I’m not worshipping God. Same is true for the leaders over me.
Great thoughts Jake. And great driving skills!
OK, I’m good with leading, and I speed like an idiot. If I get another speeding ticket in the next year, after the required drivers school course for the 100th time, they’re going to take my license. However speeding is breaking the law and while I’m not innocent I think it is still the “law of the land.” We’re to lead by example and I’m not sure speeding is a great example? Have you ever seen a car speeding like a bat outta hell and as they go by glance the Christian fish on the back of the car somewhere? What did you think?
My truck got stolen about three years ago so I had to replace it. For all of my adult life I’d driven 4-wheel drive pick-ups, four doors, lifted, sometimes smoking diesels and sometimes v-10’s. I could haul anything needed for work and the family. All those vehicles were significantly bigger than Hummers, not quite as wide the original, but bigger in all other aspects. All those gas trucks got the same mileage as the Hummer. The new Hummer has the same frame as the Cadillac Escalade and GMC Denali. I still haul things and sometimes my family… In an H2 pick-up. Things aren’t always what you think, I got it as a graduation down from real big trucks. What would you think if passed you in my H2 with my hat on backwards and my ponytail hanging behind, my black or chrome Gatorz hiding my eyes. Would you still recognize me as your brother? By the way I loved the writing and I too pass everything on the road, my usual is 10 to 20 over. I gotta slow down…