WARNING: Rant within. Proceed at your own risk.
I got told off today by a grumpy old man.
I was getting off the freeway, coming back from a run where I spent an hour and a half sitting at a prop house, waiting for them to get their shit together. So clearly, I was already in a bad mood.
I was in the left lane, which I realized was wrong, since I needed to be in the right lane because I needed to make an immediate right. I used my turn signal and jumped into the right lane as I made the turn, being careful to make sure I wasn’t going to hit anyone.
I almost made it around the corner to make a right turn, but the guy in front of me pulled up short at the last second for no apparent reason, then after stopping, ran a red light, leaving me to back up a touch to be out of a crosswalk.
As I did, an old man in a 1980’s Cadillac pulled up next to me, and motioned for me to roll down the window. I thought he was going to ask for directions, so I rolled down my window.
He then proceeded to berate me for my poor driving skills, saying that he used to be a cop and he was saving me a ticket. He said I should have gotten three tickets.
Ok, I acknowledge that I made a bad judgement call because I though I was getting off at a different point than I actually was and didn’t need to make that immediate right, but really, making a last minute lane change is NOT illegal (especially if, unlike most citizens of Los Angeles County, you use your turn signal), even if it’s dumb.
And I don’t even KNOW what the fuck else he was talking about. If he thought me getting stuck a touch into the crosswalk was my fault, he clearly wasn’t watching what happened.
But I was so tired and pissed off already that I figured it wasn’t worth starting a fight with him, since punching an old man in the face (as I definitely would have done if I had gotten into it with him) never looks too good in a background check.
So I just apologized like a schmuck and made myself that much angrier.
Which is funny, beacuse I’ll apologize unsolicited for things that aren’t my fault all the time, but when someone THINKS something is my fault and it’s not and then demands that I apologize for it, I become infuriated.
I’m all for respect for elders, but this guy was just crazy. I’m sure if he had his way all us young whippersnappers would be in jail for the drugs he cleary thinks we’re all on.
It put me in a bad fucking mood for the rest of the day, and I had to come home and have a couple of beers before my anger even started dissipating.
Gah. Still pisses me off to think about his smug fucking face. Time for another beer…
Do your windows not roll up?
Yes, they do, but I didn’t have the energy to think of that at the time.