Around quarter to seven tonight I’d just left the parking garage. I had to turn left instead of my usual right. The left was necessary, you see, because I had to go to the grocery. It occured to me I had no beer, no soda, and only one slice of bread - a heel nonetheless. Traffic around campus can get pretty bad during the rush hours. It’s a lot like Clemson was before they got 93 widened out. I was waiting in long line to turn left onto the main road. I was far enough back that the actual color of the signal meant nothing to me, and for clarification this is a turn signal, not just a general green light. I heard someone honk up ahead and realized the light has turned green. As I keep my eyes on the intersection, hoping I can make it through, some old-ass hippy on a cell phone rolls up to the intersection from the other direction. He wants to make a right turn. One person from my lane, which had the right-of-way honked him to a stop. Everyone was being a little cautious and going little slower than usual. Old-ass Hippy decided that he should again attempt to make his turn. Another car aims for him making him stop. Upon realizing that his strategy was too timid, the Old-ass Hippy didn’t give the third car a chance to stop him because he wasn’t going to stop. It turns out he was in no hurry, but according to one of his many bumper stickers, “Think Peace.” I was thinking about shoving a piece of my foot up his ass. Perhaps that explains why I’m not a hippy.
Extra note, after checking dictionary.com on my spelling of hippy (hippie is also acceptable) I found the definition to be more telling than I had anticipated:
A person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles.
Apparently that means ignoring traffic laws… and being dirty and stinky must be understood and unstated.
At twelve-thirty this afternoon I had class. I didn’t go.
Otherwise, from about 6AM this morning until 4:52PM today I wrote a report. At 4:55 I went to the class in which it was due.
On my way to the grocery, after I had the chance to flip off the hippy, I felt pretty damn good about myself.
It was a good day, Tater.
Addendum: What is the “think peace” advice if you’re personally attacked by someone? Are you supposed to try to run away? Do you throw your hands above your head and proclaim, “Je me rends”? Or is violence an acceptable means of self-preservation?
Wha Says:
I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet that “think peace” is probably for a broader scale–Iraq. I don’t think it applies to individual fight / flight instincts because that’s a leftover from our reptilian days and kinda hard to shake. I couldn’t imagine having that sticker on my car. It’s like saying, “Hi. I’m a pussy.” Until douche bags like that realize what’s going on, the “blue states” are going to dwindle. Nobody likes hippies anymore. That was SOOO 35 years ago.