Caution: Nut Job Behind the Wheel

Okay, I admit it. I may not be the best driver on the planet. It’s true!

I have a serious tendency to be aggressive. I drive an ancient Honda that gets great gas mileage. The trouble is that I drive a wee-bit faster than I should sometimes. I have received a couple of Fast-Driving Awards in my day and have been in the occasional accident. In high school, I backed into some old battle-axe’s car in a parking lot. (I blame her; she wasn’t there when I shoulder checked and started backing up.) Once, a dozen years ago, I managed to center punch my suburban on a light standard in a Safeway parking lot. On the plus side, I didn’t hit the kid I saw darting through the parking lot. Although my innate honesty forces me to tell you that she wasn’t nearly as close as I thought she was. (I see a theme here, maybe I should avoid parking lots!)

So yeah, I am not a perfect driver, although I am scrupulously careful in playground and school zones. I don’t text while I drive, and I have a Bluetooth thingy for my cell phone.

I do have a couple of driving pet peeves. Learn how to merge people. Speed up to match the flow of traffic you are joining, and the rest of you make a gap! And can we please, please, please watch the lights and get moving when it turns green. Oh, and those speed signs, can we make an attempt to get to posted speed in less than five minutes and can we travel the posted speed. I’m not asking you to exceed the speed limit, just get there!

Okay, enough venting, on to the positive part of a road trip, the music.

My previous post was on the shameful tunes on my Ipod. Today’s post kind of ties into that. I love music. Yup, it’s true. I get in the car and turn the radio from talk-radio to music. (Why does my man listen to that?) I have five classic rock and one country station pre-set on the radio. (And two classic rock for another city that I visit often.) I start pushing buttons until something moves me and I start singing along. (The car is too old to have a CD player.)

I back out of the driveway, and I’m off. Recently, I noticed that I get a lot of funny looks while I am driving and singing away. I’ll be stopped at a light, sun glasses on, reading glasses on top of my head, Bluetooth in, and caterwauling away to the music. Teenagers look at me like I’m some kind of a nut job. Small kids smile and wave. Women glare at me. Old people ignore me and men smile.

I thought it was just a coincidence, but I started paying closer attention to the reactions of the folks around me while I sing and drive. Rarely do I get an unexpected reaction. Although, one lady looked at me, and said to her friend, “Oh my God, look at her.” (Lip reading. LOL) Now, that just made my day.

Now I admit I’ve seen people rocking-out while they drive and it makes me smile. I love pulling up alongside someone when you can tell they are shouting the lyrics at the top of their voices. It just makes me laugh. The teenagers really crack me up, because as soon as they notice that you are looking, they stop singing. Too funny! Me, I don’t care what you think of my singing, or how silly I look. I’m just having fun.

So keep your eye out for me when you’re touring around. I’ll be the brunette with the wild-out-of-control hair, tortoise shell sunglasses, reading glasses and Bluetooth, singing away at the top of her voice and driving her wee Honda like a cross between a tank and a Porsche.