2. Today, 5:30: You don’t even want to know what curses I said to the Saab going 50 mph on the Merritt.3. Today, 6:24: In the white Taurus in front of me, a man, rather than being focused on driving from point A to point B as fast as he can, is talking to his 12 year old daughter. I can tell, because he’s glancing over at her leisurely as I grip the wheel and watch the conversation.
I feel myself getting angry, but I quickly calm myself by employing one of my most reliable strategies: I imagine that the person in front of me is someone I know. If that were my dad talking to my sis, I wouldn’t want some b*!$(% behind them thinking mean things.
4. Today, 6:26, at a stoplight. The white Taurus has a little sticker on the back window that I can’t quite read. Wouldn’t it be so cool if we all plastered stickers on our cars? We spend so much time in these metal capsules; it’s such wasted space! It would be fun to show off who we are... but we want to be anonymous, right? I don’t really want to know what the person in front of me thinks; that would be overwhelming. Still, I’d like to see some pretty, decorated cars. That seems like it might be illegal though because it would be distracting.
5. I adore this time alone driving. All this time to think.
6. 6:28, I whip around the Taurus once we get into a 2-lane road, but I don’t think mean things while I do it.
Oh! Sometimes I also imagine that the slow driver has been working the night shift and is really tired so they're having trouble staying awake while they are driving. You never know what other people are going through. I try to employ empathy while I am making my way across Stamford and its numerous stoplights. I try.
Does anyone have any other good strategies for dealing with traffic/other drivers?
Related Stamford Talk Post:
--Dec: Bad Drivers: Don't Get Personalized Plates
--October 17: A Vow Against Road Rage
