Vicarious
On my quiet ride back home, a Dodge Ram truck was behind me. We were stuck in evening traffic and the lady in the Dodge honked. I looked back to see a middle aged Caucasian woman with a cigarette sticking out of her mouth getting fidgety. Who wouldn’t be if they were slowed down for three seconds by a misguided cyclist?
I have managed to let go of minor things like a honk here and an undecipherable shout there but I was not really prepared for what was aimed at me this time. The traffic proceeded and a right turning lane appeared. She vroomed into it, rolled her window down and cowardly flicked her cigarette at me. It missed me by a few feet. I had an impulse of disgust which I quickly quietened down to concentrate on the left turn coming up ahead. No bird was flipped by either party. I rode back home keeping the recent incident in mind. The slow cycling with a combination of cold breeze and warm sun kept my temperament rational.
Not knowing what to think, I decided to take a long walk. In the first ten minutes of walking with Laya, the matter seemed to get clearer. What Dodge-Woman had really done was throw the most harmless part of the cancer stick at me: the stub. The addictive nicotine was already in her blood and the cancerous smoke was already in her lungs. Dodge-Woman had vicariously suffered my punishment.
In your face!
November 11th, 2008 at 3:49 am
At least it was “only” cigarette butt. I’ve had bricks, pizza boxes, pizzas, bottles and other items thrown at me from cars in the UK. Oh, and actual cars too, driven by people who really want me off the road. Those really hurt.
Thankfully, this way of thinking is absent where I live now. Do you still want us to adopt you ?
November 12th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Abhishek:
Check this strip of Yehuda:
http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2008-07-12
You are not alone my friend: Yehuda got it too!
And we all get it in one form or another.