James Pringle

One of my projected and ultimately realized fantasies about moving to and living in New York was that I was not going to have to drive anymore. At one point in my life I absolutely loved getting in the car on a cool summer night and driving on the abandoned highways listening to my favorite music. It was just me, my thoughts and semi-trucks. Somewhere between those glorious, carefree days and today I lost some of that passion, which was ultimately replaced with anxiety while being in a moving automobile.

Even back in those days though you had to deal with the drawbacks of moving around in a automobile. One of which was the fact that no matter how fast, slow, safely, or dangerously you decided to drive you always seemed to get stuck behind people that wanted to drive slower than you. On a four-lane highway this was more of a minor annoyance as you had the freedom and space to merge over and go around them, but on the back roads and on two-lane highways you had to literally put your life in jeopardy by going around them. I hated the prospect so much that I rarely did it, instead opting to curse the slow-poke in front of me until they eventually got out of my way.

Those days, I thought, were over.

Unfortunately, they are not. Nowadays the slow-pokes and slugs just aren’t vehicles anymore, but humans, and the same phenomenon seems to occur. No matter the time of day, the weather conditions or the phase of the moon, it always seems I get caught behind “limpy-guy” or the over-weight, wobbling lady on the sidewalk. These perpetual drifters seem to have no goal in mind as they slither up the sidewalk (usually in groups) blocking off any logical or reasonable route around them. If I do let my mood get the better of me I will go around them, but it usually involves going out into the street or the awkward edge of the sidewalk, so I look like a jackass for wanting to get around them. I’m sorry, but I don’t walk slow.

I feel like I attempt as best I can to be polite when getting around this town. I try to stay out of people’s way, or I leave room for the individuals who might be in a bigger rush then I am at the moment, but some of the locals (yes, I said locals) seem to not give a shit. I’m sure they would have a few choice words for me if I ever actually said anything, but that’s getting off the point.

My point (if I actually have one) is that why do people have such a hard time being courteous to things that might be going on behind them? I find it hard to believe that all these people, whether walking or in a car, are all assholes, so why as a human race do we only seem to concern ourselves with what’s directly in front of us? Have we no sense of what’s behind us? This sounds more prolific then I’m really trying to be, but my point remains the same. No doubt these people have had some similar experience, so why is it such a stretch to think they can’t recall that event and be a little kind to other people? I guess that’s just asking too much.