Monday, September 27, 2004

Okay.

So I'm driving into work, and the car in front of me is going sort of slow on this stretch of road which is marked as a 40MPH zone, but which is usually driven at 50-55 (it's a 4 lane road with a median).

I look up at the driver and I notice that he's:

smoking a cigarette
enjoying a cup of coffee
reading the paper

Wow. I'm not really sure if I was (a) terrified of this sort of willfull stupidity, or (b) if I really admired the guy for his moxie. Clearly, he did not have the same kind of quality instruction I once received at The Austin Driving School (who once had the odd slogan: We taught a burro to drive, people are easy). Instructor Joe would never let us smoke and drink and read while we were at the wheel, no matter how much we begged.

The guy was going the speed limit, but not with traffic... and unfortunately everyone behind me was speeding up and going around me, so I couldn't even pass the guy. I considered leaning on the horn, but I was afraid of what that would stir up if he spilled his coffee or dropped his cigarette.

How is it I can barely drive with my hands at 2 and 10 o'clock and totally focused and some guys can drive while partaking of a ritual which usually involves a couch? I am so jealous.

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