(Photo Rack)
I had to run some errands today, nothing special, just a trip to the grocery store. We live on a pretty busy road, so as I waited at the top of the driveway several cars drove by. Actually they drove by and honked. It took me a few seconds to figure out they were honking at me. Then I started wondering why they were honking at me. The more I wondered, the more pissed off I became. I wasn’t even on the road, what right did they have to harass me? The urge to start honking back and flipping everyone off was overwhelming. That is until I heard strange noises on the roof of the van. I took a moment, got out of the van, and looked to see what was going on. Our cat, Buffy, was holding on for his life, looking like he was about to throw up the last mouse he ate, all over my van. If the people driving by hadn’t honked at me poor Buffy would have been splattered all over the road. Good think I was able to keep my road rage in check.
Road rage, it’s hard to believe how many people have been injured or even killed because of it. The latest instance on the news involved a man being beaten by three others. The fight was posted on Youtube.com and became an instant hit, literally. Nothing like kicking a man when he is down.
(xomedia, 2012)
What makes drivers so angry that they succumb to road rage? For me, it’s the annoyance of other drivers honking at me when I don’t think I did anything wrong. That is because I never do anything wrong. The stupid cat was at fault, not me. Fortunately, I am able to just cuss everyone out in my head. This is not because I am a chicken, but because I don’t want to get shot for pissing off the wrong person. With my luck I wouldn’t die, but be paralyzed from the neck down or something. So I freak out in silent. Not everyone is so lucky though.
(kgbt4tv, 2012)
Maybe from now on I will check the van over before driving off. That way I won’t have to worry about the cat trying to commit suicide and avoid any road rage from honking cars. Well, at least I will try.
Reference
kgbt4tv. (Producer). (2012). Road rage ends with one driver shot in the face . [Web Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Xezx6PgX0
Photo Rack. (Photographer). (n.d.). An orange cat isolated on a white background. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/10597
xomedia. (Producer). (2012). Freeway road rage i-5 beating video violent road rage caught on camera (graphic).mp4. [Web Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZDhQkdZwAs
Michele Peterson-Rufener
Michele Peterson-Rufener is Secret Laboratory’s Home & Health Editor. Michele is a former advertising sales representative and a freelance writer; she is currently seeking a degree in marketing and is a columnist for Examiner.com. Read Michele’s blog at http://happyblonde.wordpress.com/.
Email Michele at michele@secretlaboratory.org.
