Gratification
I can’t say it was the best day around here. I did not have the psychological energy to decide on a couch and in general could not quite get warm enough despite the bright sunshine. No, I am not sick! I did warm up when we hiked along the river this morning and again during a walk to the Plum Market followed by a vigorous little flinging session down in the Dungeon. Unfortunately, there were also more sedentary parts to the day than I’d like to admit and I kind of shivered through those. In a way, it’s been such a mild winter for these parts that I’m not sure I’m acclimating to cold temperatures very well. And with temperatures in the mid-30s it wasn’t really that cold today. Any other winter I might be out in shorts on a day like today.
Anyway, it wasn’t the best day but one fun little occurrence absolutely MADE MY DAY!!! We were driving along Huron River Drive. Huron River Drive is a scenic drive that winds along the banks of the river. It is a paved two lane *winding* road with very little shoulder and the speed limit is 35 mph. It is almost impossible to pass another vee-hickle on HRD, not to mention that it is a favorite bi-cycling route and, I dunno, it’s just best to take your time on Huron River Drive.
So, the GG was driving along at the speed limit. It is a *scenic* drive, right? And we were enjoying the *scenery*. Alas, we had a tailgater. We had a VERY AGGRESSIVE, IMPATIENT tailgater. You know the kind. I hate tailgaters! Do you hate tailgaters? We came to a stretch of road where you can see far enough ahead that if you wanted to gun it and get around the slow car in front of you, you might actually be able to do it. Even though it is a NO PASSING ZONE. Guess what? Our tailgater did exactly that. He hit the gas and aggressively screeched around us. For about a split-second, I was thinking something like, “Good riddance”. And then I saw it! A black vee-hickle parked on the opposite side of the road ahead of us. Was it a po-leese vee-hickle? Yes! It was! And yes, that po-leese vee-hickle turned on it’s its flashing lights, pulled out, and stopped our loverly tailgater.
I drive a *lot*. I love to drive. I *hate* tailgaters and other crappy drivers. So often when I’m on the road I find myself wishing the po-leese were around to witness this or that incident of Crackerjack box driver ass-holery. This loverly little incident was sooooooo gratifying. I guess it’s a little sad that it made my day but I’ll take it.
Love y’all,
KW
January 8th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
That same lovely incident happened to me when I was a teenager, driving some friends out to a basketball game. I stopped at a red light, but the tailgater behind me screamed around me and through the red light—right into the sights of a waiting cop. I’ve wanted it to happen approximately 1 million times since then! It’s been mild around here too; we actually have some sun and blue sky today. 🙂
January 8th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
I think it was much more, “fun”, than Kayak Woman can relate. Over the last 30 years, I have often run into folks who do not understand that Huron River Drive is a, “scenic drive”. This designation was made before subdivisions were built along the river. Sorry, if you want a quick commute, do not drive on the scenic Huron River Drive. The experience today was classic. I drove at a steady 37 mph on cruise control. An impatient driver closely tail-gated me – as we came around a scenic bend, up a hill, and with double-yellow lines… the tailgater gunned his sport-utility vehicle around us. The timing was perfect. Within seconds, we spotted a cop parked on the opposite side of the road and he immediately turned on his flashers while the speeding-passing vehicle was on the wrong side of the double-yellow. Yes. The cop pulled the guy over. Such folks deserve their “just reward”.
I almost feel guilty that it was so much fun.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
That is a great story. It would have made my day too! Tailgaters are the worst!
January 8th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Love Huron River Drive. I think I have been on it more frequently on a bike than in a car. I believe we had a birthday party at one of the parks when a fire started along the railroad tracks (could be wrong). My favorite was to ride to the Dexter Cider Mill, get some of their hot donuts, and spend 2 cents for a cup to get cider out of the spigot.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Love it – justice prevails!
January 8th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I too enjoyed this experience once on the way to work. It made my work day.
January 9th, 2012 at 1:32 am
This is awesome! How many MILLIONS of times (like Margaret said) that I have wished this would happen! Perfect! You have made my day, too!
January 9th, 2012 at 2:49 pm
schadenfreude!!! yes! and Jay – just an fyi that you’re not going to get much of anything for 2 cents at the cider mill these days. ;-(
January 9th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Once in a great while it’s OK to get a little joy from someone else’s misery.
Thanks for spreading the joy.
-UU