TRAFFIC,PARKING, PEDESTRIANS, AND THE COLORFUL WORLD OF COMMUTING
There are always people who, during the day, park on a busy residential street. Since the majority of people are at work, there are quite a few parking spots available. They often park and do not move their car until the next day. This poses a problem since many of them only think of themselves and do not realize that others need to find a spot as well. Instead of pulling up as close as possible to the car in front of them, they leave at least 5 feet in front of them, as well as behind them- just enough so that if they did pull up far enough, it would leave an extra parking spot open for the next person. So, the hard working people come home from work around 6:00 and curse those who don't understand that others also park on that street. Bottom line: LEARN HOW TO PARK!
-HS
We've all been there. You're sitting in traffic that is moving about an inch a minute and you think to yourself, "What did I do wrong? I left early. I calculated my driving time so that I would avoid all possibilities of hitting rush-hour traffic. Why is this happening? WHY?!?!" The cause of the traffic jam is at first assumed to be too many cars on the highway at one time, but as time passes, and the traffic still has barely moved, it becomes this enormous enigma- What lies beyond the horizon? What horror could have possibly caused all this havoc? This undoubtedly leads you to take guesses, maybe even bets, on what the cause is- a semi rolled over a couple of mini vans? A ten car pile-up? These guesses continue for about an eternity until you begin to see flashing lights peaking out from beyond the sea of cars that lies in front of you. "Aha! Okay, so it must be a horrible accident! Well, now I feel bad for getting pissed off, because surely several people have been killed or at least partially deformed." You may even follow this statement up with a short prayer for the families of the supposed victims. So just as you are feeling thankful for being alive, despite the fact that it has taken you two hours to drive half of a mile, you come upon the events occuring on the shoulder: a police car has pulled over a Volvo for speeding. Your initial madness and hatred comes rushing back into your head as you think, "MY GOD, PEOPLE! WE SENT MEN TO THE MOON YET WE STILL CAN'T FIGHT THE URGE TO STOP AND STARE AT FLASHING LIGHTS?!?!?" So, figuring that after two hours filled with wonder, anger, and a renewed (and later dissolved) sense of faith, you put your foot on the brakes and stare...because, dammit, you've earned it!
-LD
Why the Concept of "Right of Way" is an Illusion.
As a motorist, your irritation arises from the pedestrian who runs across the street while YOU have the green light. Of course they can't wait another 2 minutes for the "walk" sign to guide them across the street, they must make the best time possible while causing you, the motorist to brake and fear that you might possibly hit them. Also, as a motorist, you get angry when you have the green light and you want to turn right. The pedestrian sees the walk sign and feels that it's their right to take their time crossing the street to either infuriate you and/or show you that they have the right of way. This causes you to a) worry that you're not going to have enough time to make your turn, b) worry that the cars behind you are getting antsy because they too want to make the right turn, and c) worry that another pedestrian, who is walking faster, will try to make it across the street as well, in turn making it longer before you can turn. In addition to those frustrations, there is always an individual talking on a cell phone and not paying attention to ANYTHING. As they try to cross the street, they suddenly realize that they are not the only person alive and that there are cars that use the road as well. They abruptly realize their mistake but it's too late to turn around so they bolt across the street and then resume their conversation with a smile and the glazed look on their face returns as if nothing happened. As a pedestrian, your hatred of motor vehicles is just as intense. Suddenly your feet have become these unstoppable entities that think on their own and NOTHING should stand in their way- not even a 2,000 lb automobile. Those feet have one thing on their mind: must keep moving. Not moving is simply a waste of one's time and energy and may lead you to, (God forbid), look around at your surroundings. Motorists are sitting comfortably in their air-conditioned cars while you're pounding the pavement- you better believe they're gonna wait for you! Besides, engineers have spent hours developing extremely advanced brake systems for occassions like your unstoppable feet realizing that they absolutely must walk through that really stale green light. And as that Cadillac Escalade's ABS starts kicking in, you and the driver exchange looks of pure hatred-and the struggle continues.
-HS
What is the point? When I see a street cleaner, I rarely see any improvement as they pass by. There is often no water streaming from the back of the vehicle and the rotating brushes in front are about 6 inches from the ground. Also, hello, streets are outside and are forever going to be dirty! Do they think that tourists are going to drive by and revel in the cleanliness of city streets? "Oh boy, let's come back and visit because this town keeps their streets sparkling clean!!!" This leads me to believe that the only reason the city "offers" this service is to generate revenue from tickets because the poor saps failed to see the small street sign informing them of the cleaning. Then, my next question is where does this money go? To buy more street cleaning machines? This seems like a downward spiral to me...
-HS
Is there a more dispicable form of human filth on this Earth? Whenever I see these power-tripping bastards writing out tickets on their little evil pads I just want to stop and ask them, "How can you sleep at night? Do you realize that your sole purpose in this world is to piss people off?" Tow-truck drivers: I can sympathize. Police writing speeding tickets in order to fill their monthly quota: irritating, but I can understand. Hell, even serial killers: I'm sure their parents were at fault somehow. But meter maids? May they all rot in hell...
-LD