I went to my sister's house in Massachusetts today. After helping her with a few odd jobs she needed done, my friend and I set out to run a couple of errands. This required covering Weston, Waltham, Arlington, Somerville, Cambridge, Wayland and Natick, all suburbs of Boston.
When I tell people that I drive into New York City, they are usually amazed that I am so brave or foolhardy (depending on whom I'm talking to), but I always tell them, "I used to live in Boston. Driving in New York is a piece of cake."
And while driving in New York is challenging in its own way, driving in Boston is nothing short of training for the demolition derby. The most amazing thing I ever saw in my 39 years of driving actually happened in the allegedly staid and stuffy Back Bay. I was stopped at a red light at Clarendon or Exeter Street (I'm not sure which, it's been a long time), about to cross Commonwealth Avenue. There was a cab behind me at the light and apparently when the light changed to green, I did not move quickly enough for the cabbie. He proceeded to pass me on the right by driving up on the sidewalk to get ahead of me. Only if you know the Back Bay well can you truly appreciate that. Also in the back Bay one day as I was riding my bike to work, a Boston driver ran a red light at Fairfield and Commonwealth when I had the right of way. I saw my relatively short life pass before my eyes and didn't ride a bike again for over twenty years.
My friend who was riding with me today has her own issues with driving after losing her brother in a car accident. She is a nervous passenger, but trusts my driving ability enough to rein in her panic at drivers doing stupid things. But today was her first time riding around in the environs of Boston and I think it set her back a bit.
I could not take the time to jot down all the license plates and details of all the bad driving we encountered this afternoon, but I'd like to give a special shout out to the two lucky winners of today's
"Dented Fender Award". First of all, the young lady driving the huge boat of a car in Teele Square in Somerville who took the opportunity to force her way from a side street into the lane of traffic simply because I was not tailgating the car in front of me could have won for that selfish boneheaded move alone. But running the red light and making the right turn on red where it clearly said "No Right Turn on Red" a few minutes later earned MA plate 22S T81 the honor in spades.
And then we come to the bald, more than middle aged driver of the blue BMW convertible (mid-life crisis/penis substitute, anyone?) with MA plate 987 WDC on Rte 20 about 12:20pm who looked me right in the eye as he pulled out in front of me without even attempting to pretend he stopped at the stop sign. Our second winner of the day.
I love Boston and but for a twist of fate or two might have ended up living there permanently, but if the drivers in the Portland area annoy me on a daily basis, I suspect that driving in Boston every day for the last 30 years might have made me homicidal by now.
By the way, I'll be driving intop New York at the end of the week. Piece of cake.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
No PowerDoesn't Have to Mean No Manners
This freak snowstorm certainly has thrown a monkey wrench into a lot of plans and schedules. I never did lose power but I am one of the lucky few.
I was in Massachusetts on Saturday and planned my trip according to the weather forecast, planning to be home by 5:00 when the storm was supposed to start. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans and by the time I hit the road shortly after 2:00, it was sleeting and there was full blown snow by the time I got to Worcester. Needless to say the rest of the ride home was tricky, but I have to say, people were pretty conservative, driving at a reasonable rate of speed and recognizing the poor conditions for what they were. By the time I got to Glastonbury I had already witnessed two spin outs on I-84 and then came the downed wires and trees on Routes 2, 17 and 17A. I did a bit of a spin myself on Route 17 in South Glastonbury. Black ice on an incline is a bitch, but I was going slowly enough I was able to ride it out and recover with no damage to my car or psyche.
Late Sunday I ventured out to see what the situation was around town and I was out again on Monday morning to give my friend a ride to work. Honestly I was impressed with the civility at all the intersections. It seemed like everybody recognized that we are all in the same boat and courtesy ruled the day. Until yesterday.
I took the storm refugees who were bunking with me out for a hot meal and we ventured to Wallingford to find an open restaurant. On the way home we were stopped on Route 68 in Durham, waiting to make a left turn onto Route 17 toward Middletown. Apparently our very existence annoyed the passenger in a bright yellow car, CT plate 485 XLE. As the car passed in front of us, heading south on Route 17, the female in the passenger seat felt a need to turn and give me the finger. Why? All four of us in the car are still puzzling over that. So much for letting courtesy rule.
Mother Nature can be fickle, but I would suggest we don't piss her off any more than we already have or it will be a very long winter.
I was in Massachusetts on Saturday and planned my trip according to the weather forecast, planning to be home by 5:00 when the storm was supposed to start. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans and by the time I hit the road shortly after 2:00, it was sleeting and there was full blown snow by the time I got to Worcester. Needless to say the rest of the ride home was tricky, but I have to say, people were pretty conservative, driving at a reasonable rate of speed and recognizing the poor conditions for what they were. By the time I got to Glastonbury I had already witnessed two spin outs on I-84 and then came the downed wires and trees on Routes 2, 17 and 17A. I did a bit of a spin myself on Route 17 in South Glastonbury. Black ice on an incline is a bitch, but I was going slowly enough I was able to ride it out and recover with no damage to my car or psyche.
Late Sunday I ventured out to see what the situation was around town and I was out again on Monday morning to give my friend a ride to work. Honestly I was impressed with the civility at all the intersections. It seemed like everybody recognized that we are all in the same boat and courtesy ruled the day. Until yesterday.
I took the storm refugees who were bunking with me out for a hot meal and we ventured to Wallingford to find an open restaurant. On the way home we were stopped on Route 68 in Durham, waiting to make a left turn onto Route 17 toward Middletown. Apparently our very existence annoyed the passenger in a bright yellow car, CT plate 485 XLE. As the car passed in front of us, heading south on Route 17, the female in the passenger seat felt a need to turn and give me the finger. Why? All four of us in the car are still puzzling over that. So much for letting courtesy rule.
Mother Nature can be fickle, but I would suggest we don't piss her off any more than we already have or it will be a very long winter.
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