Well we finally got our winter weather here in Hampton Roads. Not much by real winter standards considering other places I have lived. I was lucky, or maybe blessed to be at the hospital when the storm hit. I didn’t have to commute among the Kamikazes making life miserable on the road for their unwitting targets. There were hundreds of crashes out there today.
I personally think that a lot of drivers here can’t drive nails much less cars. Drivers here are among the worst I have ever seen and I am backed up by statistics and we regularly rank in the top ten worst traffic areas in the country. I cut my teeth on LA freeways and the autobahns of Germany. I do know something about driving. Ever since Iraq I am now hyper-vigilant and really alert in traffic. This response has kept me out of a number of sporty situations. Last fall when driving down a city street there was a car along side of me, in fact dead even with me who decided to turn right into my lane. I caught the knucklehead out of the corner of my eye and reacted like Jack Bauer. I swerved to my left, sped up, recovered while blowing my horn in alarm. My erstwhile assailant then honked his horn and flipped me off. I patently returned his gesture of affection and love with a few choice colorful euphemisms about his questionable parentage and possible incestuous relationships with members of his family. Now I do have to say that does go on my list of things that I had to mention in confession. I once asked a priest “if they deserved it is it still a sin?” He told me yes, even though there might be mitigating factors. All kidding aside my work in a major urban trauma center allowed me to see the results in dead and mangled people who either died or were maimed by folks like these. It’s no fun to sit with a mother and father and tell them that their kid is dead because of other people’s reckless driving.
I made a conscious decision many years ago not to put a Jesus fish or any other identification on my car that might identify me as a Christian. I’m not ashamed of my faith, I just don’t want God getting the blame for my bad temperament on the road toward drivers like the aforementioned errant child of God. It does really chafe my hide when I get passed by someone doing about 85-90 mph weaving down the freeway without signalling all the while yacking on their non-hands free cell phone with their Jesus fish and personalized “God” license plates standing out for all to see. I wish some of them would hide their light under a bushel when they drive rather than letting everyone see that they really don’t care how bad that they make God and the church look. I know that God can take care of Herself and the church has enough problems without our beloved brethren and sisteren displaying callous disregard for the rest of humanity as they drive. So my appeal to my errant brethren is if you choose to drive in such a manner, please take off the bumper stickers, Jesus fish and change your personalized plates.
This aside, I do know that God does love those that I have pointed out. I just pray that he will not give them a car or drivers license in heaven.
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 