I was coming from a very productive writers meeting determined to begin the new year by getting along with everyone. On a one lane road, as I drove behind two other cars doing the speed limit, the idiot behind me began honking and flashing his lights at me. I checked my rear view mirror, wondering if he had a pregnant woman. No, it was just him, gripping the wheel with both hands, some old guy with a beaten potato face, glaring at me.
I have mellowed in my golden years, so I waited for the road to widen, pulled over and let the jerk pass. As soon as I slid back in behind him he hit the brakes, stopped dead and gave me the finger. My measured response was to continue driving until there was an opportunity to pull up next to him. This happened within seconds. I beeped twice to get his attention, rolled down my window and gave him a quite animated middle finger right back.
He made a left and I continued straight, feeling I'd evened things out. I wish I could say I sought excuses for his behavior. Maybe he was behind on his mortgage or had prostate issues. To be honest, I just wanted him to crash into a tree.
Now if there was a woman in my car, I would have had to cut him off, jump out of the car and attempt to beat him to a pulp. That's just the way these things work. That was on New Year's Eve, so technically I can still begin 2014 with a clean slate temper wise.
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