I have a list of many loves in my life.
Music, scuba diving, traveling, reading, etc… If I actually had to sit down and
list all that I love to do, in addition to it taking me a while, somewhere
along the line you would find a mention of the word driving. Yes, I love to
drive. Not in the sense of being driven around and going on long, scenic,
romantic drives (even though they wouldn’t hurt) but more along the lines of a
do it yourself kind of deal where I drive myself and anyone else who needs a
lift or drop off for that matter.
Now, don’t ask me how but I somehow managed
to align my passions and hobbies with most of the things I wanted to do in
terms of a career and lo and behold! Through my desire to meet more people I
took up events which then led to me driving the length and breadth of our
state, come rain or shine. Nine times out of ten, I emerge from my car smiling
and cheerful. But then there’s that one drive every now and again that will
have even the calmest person in the world turn into a raging, fire spitting,
mean, ugly dragon or as I’ve termed myself on those not so rare occasions, a
roadzilla.
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One thing that gets my blood boiling is
being stuck behind someone who believes that driving in the middle of the road
and blocking both the left and right lane is the new law of the land. It’s
happened to me so often now that I’ve actually lost count! I remember being
trapped behind one car for what seemed like forever and no amount of light
flashing, honking or a combination of both could get the guy to move. Finally,
when I caught a break, I broke the rules that I’m used to, overtook him from
the left and ended up hitting a nasty bump in the road and getting a really mad
look from the man.
Then there’s the drive and throw move that
really makes me see red. Picture a car or a bus ahead of you that’s driving
down the road and as it trundles along, garbage is thrown out one of its
windows. I can’t even begin to describe the flood of emotions that courses
through my veins at that moment! Almost instantly and like clockwork, I find my
hand glued to the horn, my foot pushing the pedal to the metal, my elbow
pressing the power window open to the maximum and my raised voice flying out my
own window. I know I must come across as stark raving bonkers in that moment but
honestly I don’t care. Through this tried and tested method, I’ve chased down,
halted, yelled at and scared bus loads of people, jeeps full of tourists and
Goans in fancy cars too. At times, however, the reaction is completely
unexpected – like that of the man in a GA registered Nano with a smashed
windscreen along the Campal road recently who wasn’t only unapologetic about
his actions but downright rude and explosive. As I pulled up alongside him to
reprimand him for his behavior, he just flew off the handle, screamed at me and
flipped me the bird along with some other hand gestures that I can’t even begin
to describe.
But I will never be discouraged nor will I
ever give up fighting for the cause. In my books, if by me coming off as the
crazy lady in the driver’s seat gets at least one person to stick to their
lanes or think twice about throwing garbage out on the road, then I’m happy.
Besides, it’s like George Carlin said – everyone else on the road is either an
idiot or a maniac!
