First of all, I should have had my lights on. It wasn’t that late, but it was overcast. Second, I did not have anywhere to be in a hurry. You can usually tell the state of my spiritual condition by my conduct while operating a motor vehicle. I was in the left lane. And that guy cut me off.
Actually, he (or she) did not cut me off. She (or he) pulled out too close in front of a grey Corolla. S/he could not possibly have known who I was. Had this person known, this person would obviously have yielded to the master. For the purposes of this discussion, we shall stipulate that I am the aforementioned “master.”
Except that the person to my rear did not choose to acknowledge this mastery. Granted, he (and I know it to be a he) could not see the replica vintage TCB plate on the front of the car, but did he really need to constantly flash his lights in my mirror? Where in the world did HE have to be in such a hurry. [Editor’s note: The author is now displaying the fraying of his spiritual condition as he purports to know the motivations of those driving vehicles other than his own.]
But really, he had a washing machine in the back of the truck. Or maybe it was a clothes dryer. Either way, were the dirty drawers in Old Fort that needed immediate washing? And how was his totally reckless behavior consistent with his “Choose Life” custom license plate? I had questions.
I tried, repeatedly, to engage the other driver in conversation by flashing my lights at him. This didn’t work any better with him than it had with me. Then I realized that maybe it wasn’t a laundry emergency. Maybe it was a family emergency. He probably has a big family. My spiritual condition, it turns out, is not dependent on the causes of another person’s reckless driving. I just need to turn on my own lights.