Anger issues....
Ever notice how angry everyone is all the time? I'm not sure if it's just in the city, or if suburban people are angry too. It just seems that lately, every where I look, there's a scowl, a frown, or a look of sheer disgust marring someone's otherwise pretty face.
You might say this is the pot calling the kettle black, and you'd be right... I am one of the angry offenders, but not ALL the time. When I'm in a great mood, it takes a lot of BS to get me going. If I'm already sitting on the fence, I'm a hair trigger waiting to happen. Today, I was in a great mood. I did two workouts last night, I got some good sleep and only had to take half of one over the counter sleep aid (that would be a quarter dose) to get it, and I woke up promptly at 5:00 am, right as my alarm started chirping.
I was thinking about the whole anger issue while driving. Every where I looked, I saw a scrunched up, life hardened face. People in other cars, people walking down the streets, kids waiting for the bus. Frowns...everywhere.
All the way in to the office, the ride was fine until I got to the Dunkin Donuts on the corner near work. There's a 4 way stop light at this intersection. As you come up to it, the road splits from one to two lanes on both sides. I was in the far right lane, there was a van on my left, about a cars length ahead of me. I could read the bumper sticker on the back of his van. It said "Pay your taxes, 12 million illegal aliens are depending on you".
All of a sudden, I could see out of my peripheral vision that the van had come to an abrupt halt, causing me to do the same out of force of habit... and about a 30th of a second later, I saw why. A car from the left lane going in the opposite direction had taken an abrupt left hand turn to go into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot thereby cutting the van and (by virtue of vehicle placement) me, off. This was sudden and unexpected. The van driver blared his horn. I just kind of sat there, a little bit stunned, but otherwise un-phased...this is Boston after all. Then I looked up. The offending car hadn't made it all the way into the parking lot because there was another car waiting for a parking spot blocking it. It was stopped directly in front of me. The van was still blaring away, the guy backing out of the parking spot was taking his time, and the woman in the passenger seat of the car in front of me was practically having convulsions she was so ANGRY. She was screaming, swearing, giving the finger...and her face a horrible, ugly contortion...and it made me think...God, no one should ever look like that.
So, she's screaming away at the van, and he's leaning on his horn and making God knows what kind of gestures back, when she turns to me and started doing the same thing.... and I'm all like "Me? What did I do?"... then I took a really good look at her and I almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous she looked, with her black framed glasses perched on the end of her nose, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, and her balled up fist (the one without the middle finger sticking up) banging on the glass....
What kind of hell could this woman be living in that would cause such a reaction to something that was her driver's fault? Didn't she realize that they cut the van off? Didn't she realize that the reason I almost ran into them was because...well... my super powers of x-ray vision are on the fritz and I couldn't see them through the van?
I pondered this while I watched her continue with her tirade, her driver reaching out to get her to calm down, then it hit me...(doiiinnnngggg!) I would cheer this woman up! I would be sweet, and friendly and really make her frown turn upside down!
So I did the only thing I could think to do. I smiled the biggest, sweetest smile anyone has ever seen and waved to her, like I knew her... then I blew her a kiss... but for some reason, it didn't work. She wasn't cheered up. She stopped her tirade, a look of almost recognition flickering on her face for like... a second, then she rolled down her window and started screaming and swearing even louder! I smiled and waved some more, blew her another kiss...but again, it didn't seem to help, she was practically clawing her way out the car window with the driver clinging to her coat. Just then, the car moved forward abruptly. This startled the woman out of her rage and made her lose her balance. Then the light changed and traffic started to move forward. I waved one more time, blew one final kiss and moved with the traffic. Out of my side view mirror, I could see her running across the parking lot towards me, left arm extended, middle finger raised. I'm sure she was just trying to thank me for making her feel better.
Ahhhh, Boston. You gotta love it here.
Time: 7:25am
Mood: Fabulous
Outlook: Positive
Symptoms: None
Gym: Yes
posted by Fox In Detox at 6:58 AM
31 Comments:
you are sooo lucky....you have ALL the fun.....
Maybe that's why you (city dwellers) are always sick besides the icky close quarters of course.
Anger breeds hate and hate sucks you up and eats you from the inside out!
"Time: 7:25am
Mood: Fabulous
Outlook: Positive
Symptoms: None
Gym: Yes"
Hallelujah!
You know, I think the big smile and wave would have been sufficient, but the blowing of the kiss....absolutely asking for a not so joyous response back. Were you trying to seduce her into an enraged tirade of revolting behavior? .....hmmmm...makes my day!
I was merely killing her with kindness and in the process, keeping her from robbing me of my own, rare, great mood.
In retrospect, yes, the kiss was a bit much... I feel bad now.
(giggle)
What I mean is, I should feel bad now. Somehow, this feeling escapes me. My 8th grade biology teacher was right, I am a rotten bitch sometimes.
Holy Cow! It seems you've mastered the "people skills" necessary to co-exist with others in the city of Boston quite well. Y'know, if you could market those skills to any of the less fortunate Bostonians, you might get rich quick or at least conttrol blood pressure.
I can easily imagine her blogging her view, and probably more justified. "Today some guy in a van blocked my way then when I looked over I saw this girl who gave my the normal wave and smile, but then blow me a kiss. I litterally froze for a good few seconds trying to compute thinking WTF by the kiss. Randomly mocking me and the situation."
It is said a smile is the best in any situation, that because it conveys friendliness and earnestness. A blow of a kiss is over the top so it looks like its just mocking her.
I'd swear that I know the woman you offended, except that you weren't in the 'burbs. She is constantly filled with rage and has been known to flip off an entire bus.
Boston needs either a lot more people like you, or a lot fewer. The current balance just isn't working. (My pref. would be for more, btw.)
Andrew (changingway.org)
dear anonymous,
you must be one of these mass-holes i keep hearing about. there is nothing justifiable about cutting across two lanes of on coming traffic and almost causing an accident just to get to a coffee shop, nor is there anything justifiable about acting like a complete lunatic, swearing and giving the finger when something is clearly not the fault of the two people who have just been cut off.
smiling, waving and blowing kisses was an obvious (did you miss the dripping sarcasm?) attempt to get the goat of the woman in the other car who was over reacting to something caused by the person driving the car she was in. Her anger was entirely misdirected. she should have been yelling at her own driver for almost getting her killed instead of insulting two people who obviously could not avoid the situation.
fox, don't worry, i got you on this.
way to go Krazy Ken from WA.......right on bro...
I find it funny that you would chide someone for getting upset about a traffic indescretion and then pat yourself on the back that hard over your passive aggressive response. You clearly blew kisses and smiled at the woman because you knew it would elicite a specific response of anger from her. Rather than commenting on someone else's lack of control, you should take a long hard look in the mirror and realize you are just as much a part of the problem, and just as guilty of being a jerk as the woman you wrote about. People like you are why living in Boston is a drag. Why you felt the need to interject yourself into a situation that did not involve you is baffling to me, but it's not surprising.
Dunkin Donuts will sure bring out the worst in people. Maybe most of boston needs to be on some kind of mood stabilizers?
Most dunkies are located in the worst possible places, creating traffic tie ups or even accidents. I once was hit by a woman who was in such a hurry to get in to the DD parking lot. Good post!!
Dearest ISC,
I fully admit that I did what I did to keep her anger where it belonged... With her, and not with me...
The traffic indiscretion that you refer to was not any fault of mine nor was it the van next to me. It was the fault of the driver of the car she was in. She had no right to yell and swear at either of us. She should have been yelling and swearing at the guy driving the car she was riding in.
I am well aware that two wrongs don't make a right...but at times like this one, sometimes it just doesn't matter.
While it would certainly be a wonderful world if we could all be as wholly passive as you would be in situations such as this, it seems unreasonable to expect it.... as human nature is unpredictable.
"Why you felt the need to interject yourself into a situation that did not involve you is baffling to me, but it's not surprising."
Take your response to my blog for instance... I write this blog for myself as a way of detoxing my mind of the things that life throws at me. I did not ask you to read it, nor did I ask you to comment...but you, in your passive and infinite wisdom felt it necessary to do both. You point out my fault (a fault I admit) in a matter that has nothing to do with you and you feel that you are righteous in your position to criticize the actions of a person who never claimed to be perfect, or even right.
"Rather than commenting on someone else's lack of control, you should take a long hard look in the mirror and realize you are just as much a part of the problem, and just as guilty of being a jerk as the woman you wrote about."
I look in my mirror every day, and on days when I don't like what I see, I do something about it. I know when I'm being a jerk and I fully admit to it. Hell, I wrote about it, and I'm not apologizing for it.
How about taking a page from your own book....to me, self righteous hypocrites are what make living in Boston a real drag...but then again, to each his own I guess, right?
I thought the kiss blowing was right on the mark! F' the crazy B'(sorry mom)! ISC sounds like one of the dopes that thinks that not keeping score at children's games is a good idea. Because someones Feeeeeeeeelings might be hurt. If we were all as passive as he\she we would be speaking German or some other language! So I say:
Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie! Foxie!
And to you ISC "I blow a kiss in your general direction!"
When you post on a public forum like the web, you lose your right to privacy, get it? The fact that you interceeded into a traffic dispute between two seperate vechicles is just ridiculous and you're quite lucky her giving you the finger was the worst of it. Your lack of ability to even see the point I was making further proves my theory that you are in fact the problem. When I hear two people yelling at each other on the street, I don't make sure to "blow kisses" at them and wave. To do so is just your own rotten personality seeking out a confrontation. I don't care if you agree with me or not, the way you carry yourself proves to me that you are in fact vapid, and spiteful. I'll leave you with one last suggestion: Becareful whom you play passive agressive games with, not all folks would be content with just giving you the finger.
Have a nice day!
Hey Troy,
for the record, I hate that everyone makes the teams now for children and they don't keep score. What's the point of playing a game if you can't learn how to win or lose with grace? As for your comments on me, I don't know you nor do I care to, so save your kisses and blow yourself instead, mmmmmkaaaay?
she didn't interceed jock itch. she was part of the almost traffic accident, can't you read? someone was asaulting her with swears and finger gestures. you are a complet hipocrite. no one asked you to interceed in this blog yet here you are. crawl back under your rock and you have a nice day.
how did she interceed?
did you not notice the part where she said the other car cut infront of the van and her car? that would make it three vehicles involved, not two. did you miss where she was just sitting there and the woman stopped yelling at the van driver and started yelling at her? what are you blind, or just stupid? you're the vapid, spiteful one. just look at all the crap you're stirring up with your hipocritical idiocy.
Ha, this is the funniest thing I have ever read. ISC, your lack of ability to read a blog correctly is simply astounding, but the moxie you show in your ridiculous response is ever better. I love your comments! They just make me feel so much smarter!
What amazes me is that two separate people took the time to criticize my ability to read, yet both went on to misspell hypocrite. Way to prove a point!!You are both giants among children!!
As for the account provided by our fearless blogger, what can I say, I don't buy that they just sat there passively when someone cut across the front of their car. If they had, why go to the painful lengths of painting such a one-sided picture to illustrate their point? Sounds like BS to me, and I doubt it went down like that. More than likely they scowled (or did something else) as well, and provoked the already angry woman.
As for my spelling challenged friends, thanks for playing d-bags. Next time I post, I'll make sure to use monosyllabic words so you don't get confused. GFYS!! Thank you and good night.
This is FUN!
Um, you got this wrong too! Being intellectually inept I had to look up "Vapid" and Fox is not!
vapid
Main Entry: va·pid
Pronunciation: \ˈva-pəd, ˈvā-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin vapidus flat-tasting; akin to Latin vappa flat wine and perhaps to Latin vapor steam
Date: circa 1656
: lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force : flat, dull *a gossipy, vapid woman, obsessed by her own elegance — R. F. Delderfield* *London was not all vapid dissipation — V. S. Pritchett*
synonyms see insipid
Okay then Troy, what does insipid mean?
Insipid:
without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.
Get it? I meant this blog offered nothing of value, nor was it interesting to hear someone pontificate about a road raging Ahole.
You should have been able to deduce this from your own post, but here, I'll make it easy for you:
"lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force : flat, dull *a gossipy, vapid woman, obsessed by her own elegance"
Take another trip to the dictionary, you may learn something. Now go get your shinebox.
Okay, there's a lot of free-floating anger and aggression around, made worse by the fact that people can and often enough will do stupid stuff while driving, particularly in traffic. However, this anger is not only in the city, but is endemic in the suburbs as well. It's more subtle and veiled in the suburbs, but is there, nonetheless.
How 'bout those Cubbies!
(Mark in a cool attempt to change the subject, neither waves nor smiles nor blows kisses, but rather makes a non-sequitor comment meant to elicit complete confusion and perhaps a smile or two.)
Actually everyone, ISC makes a really valid point. In his/her/it's opinion, I am and my blog is vapid and insipid...which to me, seems like a GREAT reason to not read or comment on it.
Yet, as if un-able to resist my vapid insipidness...here he/she/it is again...reading, not understanding, and proving my point about human nature being unpredictable.
Welcome to the dark side ISC. How does it feel to be passive and aggressive all at the same time? Your mirror is calling.....
Mark, point taken and thank you for interjecting. On a much larger scale, I believe we'd all be at war now. I'm going to stop engaging before the nukes come out...besides, yawn...I'm bored now.
(Oops, there I go, being passive aggressive again. Darn. I just can't help my vapid, insipid self.)
I'm still quite amazed that readers believe your wildly fantastical stories which are quite obviously imaginary. Whether you have a clinical disorder along the lines of compulsive lying, or simply lead such a sad existence that creating such exciting stories makes you feel better about yourself is not for me to decide...I'm not a psychologist.
However it's not too difficult to see a deeply troubled person reaching out for attention so desperately, that she creates her own made-up world full of crazy adventures. But perhaps it's more troubling that your readers not only believe you, but encourage you. It's no wonder our society is in such decline.
I know right? It shocks me that I'm allowed to walk the streets, all by myself...in broad daylight!
You know what really cracks me up though, people like you not only read my "fantastical" stories...you actually can't help but comment on them.
Now that's the sign of a true writer! Someone who can evoke so much emotion in a stranger, that that stranger actually feels compelled to comment.
"You know what really cracks me up though, people like you not only read my "fantastical" stories...you actually can't help but comment on them."
Why let such a disturbed individual flounder in solitude, seeking comfort in the reaction of strangers to her tall tales?
You're right...people comment here because your stories do evoke emotions. Emotions like frustration and irritation when the reader realizes that the blog entries are fiction, and sympathy when the readers realize how diseased you are.
Seek help...it can't be found on the internet.
Hey anonymous... I bet you pee in people's pools, don't you? Don't bother lying. Pool pee'ers always lie about it anyway.
"Hey pot."
"Yes kettle?"
"You're black!"
Get some help, freak.
I get it, ISC... you were the male driver, weren't you?
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