When Your Need To Not Be Maimed In A Crash Gets In The Way Of Their Phone Calls
Yet another in a series. I'd just picked up my mail, and I was waiting to turn right from Pier onto Ocean Avenue. On Ocean, a car was coming toward me in the lane closest to the curb. It slowed down considerably, and its turn signal was on, so I inched forward to make my turn when...the blonde dimwit in it kept coming right toward me instead of turning...holding her cell phone to her ear, yammering away. Grrrr.
It was, once again, my driving M.O., based on the notion that everyone on the road is blind and a moron, that averted a crash. At least she gave that little "Oh, did my phone call almost turn into a car accident? So sorry!" wave.
She turned into the parking lot on the next block, and I followed her, hoping to put her face on my bad driving blog wall of shame after she parked her car. She kept going through the parking lot, slowly turning back onto Main, and slowly and cavalierly running a red light...and in the area that's usually thickest with pedestrians. Charming!
Unfortunately, The police can't do anything about traffic violations unless they see them.
The idiot must have noticed me behind her, because she turned off Main Street. I followed, and yes, driving like granny, not Mario Andretti. I know that area of Santa Monica very, very well, so it was easy to follow her without breaking any laws or driving like an assclown myself.
I do love that she had to stop going whereever she was going to get away from me -- which maybe taught her a little lesson about paying a little more attention to the road while driving...which might mean she won't be hitting you in your car in the future.
Finally, the nitwit drives up Second Street, pulls up a driveway, and drives into the back! Now, I don't know if it's actually her home, but chances are either she or somebody she knows lives there. Bright. If you've got somebody who's a little tweaked about your driving following you, do you really want them to know where you or your friends live?
The driveway is 240-242 Second Street (between that house and the next house over), and maybe, just maybe, there's some dumb blonde who thinks her car is a four-wheeled phone booth in residence there. Silver Mazda. Anybody know her?
Gently, Amy. If one of these encounters goes badly, you could quickly become an opening passage in a Leonard novel. We need you here, fighting the good fight
Crid at April 7, 2006 7:44 AM
Thanks, Crid...but as a girl, I'm always concerned for my safety. This was some big, blowsy blonde girl who didn't look like the type to have an Uzi in the glove box.
Amy Alkon at April 7, 2006 8:26 AM
Amy- maybe you aren't meant to live in such a densely populated area? In the last decade I think I have had maybe 3 situations where someone pissed me off enough to remember it an hour later... you get at least that many each week!
I think you need to take a few months off and move up to the Oregon Coast, say Cannon Beach or Newport...
eric at April 7, 2006 12:50 PM
The biggest problem with "densely populated areas" is that they tend to have more dense people per square mile.
Look--The social compact is broken.
Amy is trying to point out the fractured parts so maybe-- MAYBE-- a person or two will rid him or herself of the egotistical corpulence that plagues our collective lives.
Amy is the type of person I WANT living in a city with me. I wish we could clone her.
Deirdre B. at April 8, 2006 5:00 AM
egotistical corpulence
Ooh, I like that, very descriptive.
deja pseu at April 8, 2006 10:53 AM
Eric, thanks, but I don't think I should have to move because people have horrible manners. And yesterday, at Starbucks, they gave me a free coffee coupon after they heard me politely tell two people to shut their big yaps -- (not exactly the words I said) -- both of whom apologized. Nobody likes being bashed over the head with somebody else's life. Just few people are willing to say anything. As a disappointed optimist, I'm trying to make the world the place I'd like it to be. And thanks, Deirdre.
Amy Alkon at April 8, 2006 4:27 PM
OK- at least 4 this week.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but if someone chased after my wife and followed her home, started snapping photos, and posted on them on a blog, I would have a serious discussion with that person.
Did you cut off anyone as you were taking photos while driving that you didn't notice? Maybe...
Everyone is busy and stressed, and most are doing their best out there, so maybe for everyones blood pressure you may want to cut a little slack? She did wave an apology...
eric at April 8, 2006 7:54 PM
I'm totally cognizant of that. I posted that above. I followed her at a very slow pace -- and you can't go fast at 5pm on Main Street anyway. I don't take photos when the car is moving. I wait until I stop. If she were sincere about being sorry, she would've gotten off her phone immediately. She was only sorry I was pissed off that she nearly hit me. FYI, I'm not some out-of-control angry person. If somebody's a gang member or it seems imprudent to do anything but sit back and loathe them, that's what I'll do. In the mean time, I'm not going to sit by as people behave as if they're the only ones on the planet. There's a good chance - or at least some chance - this girl will have second thoughts about making driving the last priority on her list when she's on the road.
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2006 7:11 AM
It is indeed fortunate that we have someone such as Amy to point all of the ways that we don't measure up.
Speedy at April 10, 2006 8:40 AM
There are a lot of ways, Speedy, that I don't measure up, but I try to admit them and correct them so a photo of me, caught in the act, won't end up on anybody's blog. In fact, I'd say my willingness to admit I'm an asshole (from time to time -- or more often) -- in fact, my habit of reflecting on my behavior and looking for my episodes of assholishness -- is the best preventative of assholishness there is.
Amy Alkon at April 10, 2006 3:25 PM
Your lucky that girl didn't call the cops on you. I understand how annoying and dangerous she is, but try not to put yourself in a bad situation either ok? I'm just like you about these things, and sometimes I wish someone would remind me to just calm down. Big hug. Suzy
Suzy at April 14, 2006 1:53 PM
Actually, I called the cops on her as I was sitting outside her house. There's no law against slowly following another car down the street. There are, however, laws against crashing into other vehicles and running red lights. And thanks for thinking of me, but I know to zip my lip and suck it up when it's some gangbanger looking guys in the car, but a blowsy blonde I thought it was safe to follow.
Amy Alkon at April 14, 2006 2:14 PM
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