The Law Of The Garbage Truck

I have mentioned before that driving is one my least favorite activities in my world. I am such an angry little person when other drivers do the stupidest stuff I have ever seen, or just don't follow the basic traffic laws. The other thing that gets me worked up is the blatant rudeness of people (i.e. grocery stores and other retail places). It seems that the people around me are too busy being in their own little world using their stupid loser cell phones and other pieces of technology that they forget that they are affecting people around them. I like this saying - "The Masses are Asses" - I won't say who has said that, I just like it. This person also says that there is a lot of rage out there. Maybe there is maybe there isn't - it could be that or I am just a little too polite.

As a kid my mom always told me to watch out for the people and to not get in their way, I guess that stuck. If I'm in the store, pushing a cart around and I turn into an aisle and encounter another shopper I'll probably be the one who apologizes first...I have found that other people rarely do. Who raised these people?! When did it become okay to be rude? Maybe I'm not so much angry as I am annoyed.

Man, this post is almost like therapy. I guess I owe blogger a hundred bucks!

The following is from an email that I received at work the other day - it helps me to put things into perspective. Maybe I'll be less annoyed now...garbage is what it is...

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One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy; and I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...... 'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.'

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.

The movement of vehicles thru an area or along a route...

This book came for me at work yesterday...

Since we live a cool 15-20 minutes from my work, I really don't experience what can pass as TRAFFIC on a daily basis. Especially since I spent the majority of the summer bike commuting...my bike view of traffic is a lot different. Overall, driving is not my favorite activity, I just see it as a necessary means to get someplace in the least amount of time, if at all possible.

Commuting by bike is so great because I will generally take a least driven route to get past the mess at the I-5 and I-205 @ 134th Street interchange. With the opening of the new bridge over Salmon Creek my route doesn't even pass thru the I-5/I-205 area anymore. During my bike travels I have discovered that motorists are not necessarily happy drivers or that good either or too cautious. There have been too many instances of people speeding up to get past me just to jam on the brakes to make a turn somewhere OR others that drive very slowly behind me until I get past where they want to go or the driver behind them becomes very impatient. Both practices that I hate equally. Just drive your car - that's all I can say. Yes, cars move faster depending on the driver so please people, just drive as you were taught in Driver's Education. What is it that makes people drive so differently, while seemingly "obeying" the same traffic laws? In my world, a red light equals STOP...not "oop, I can still make it since it was yellow when I saw it 5 blocks back..."

Anyway, when driving thru Salmon Creek and all the lights between the two interstates can get hairy at times and from point to point the distance between the onramp to I-5 and the offramp from I-205 is less than half a mile and there are 6 traffic lights from point to point which gives opportunity for motorists to make all sorts of interesting moves while driving. The big green signes over the intersections give plenty of warning if you don't really know where you are going.

Okay, so I am a little driving nazi, I really do not enjoy driving that much. I tend to plan my route ahead of time, leave WAY before I need to and try to enjoy the trip, but really, who enjoys driving? Two out of three isn't bad I guess.

How did I find this book? In a very unlikely place actually, Bicycling magazine! The new Editor in Chief included this in her letter as a recommended read for anyone who rides a bike. I am still working my way thru the Prologue, but I am already enjoying what I read. Should be interesting!