Last weekend, while pumping gas at the QuickStop at Market and Dubuque, I witnessed a rare thing in Iowa: Public Rage. Two cars were at the light on Market, both wanting to turn right onto Dubuque. The light turned green, but pedestrians were still crossing in front of the first car. Car behind didn't see this, apparently, and honked (also rare here) when the first car didn't go on green.
A middle-aged man got out of the first car and bellowed into the crisp and quiet 10-degree air the following to the students (I think) in the car behind him who had honked: "Do you see these people crossing? I'm gonna take that horn and shove it up your fucking ass!"
At that very second, a man passed by on the sidewalk, leading his little girl, whose ears could have been full of nothing else but this loud and remarkable utterance in the street next to her.
I was too busy being fascinated by the girl's unlikely appearance to see, but the kids in the car must have done something else to provoke the guy, because he took a few more steps toward them and screamed, "I'll fucking beat all three of your asses!"
When they didn't respond, he got back into his car and drove off. Never seen anything like that here before. Oddly, I felt great for about an hour.
1 comment:
Ah, but then there is Chicago:
Saw a guy at a stop light back up when he realized the light was red and he was in the middle of the intersection. Backed into an old maroon beater. Then angry beater decided, what the hell, and started driving forward, ramming the offending car and pushing him into the intersection. Cross traffic stopped, the offending car drove forward a few feet, hit reverse, and rammed the maroon car, then took off.
Last I saw, both cars were roaring and screeching down a small residental street at speeds you thought you only saw on TV.
My feelings on the matter are...ambivalent.
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