This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Obsessive-Compulsive Driving
Jan
22
2009
I have the driving habit of avoiding bits of paper or plastic that are on the road, especially if they were just kicked up by a vehicle in front of me.
Sometimes a vehicle will drive by a piece of trash sitting in the road. The wind from the car will swirl around the debris, causing it to tumble or dance along the road. If it’s near the lane markings, I will swerve slightly in order to avoid it. If it’s in the middle of the lane, then I just run over it.
Either way, after I have gone by the spot where the thing was, I watch my mirrors carefully to make sure that it didn’t get stuck on my car somehow. I will keep checking both the side mirrors and the rearview mirror until I see the paper or whatever it was.
I have seen another car with a plastic grocery bag stuck to the bottom of the car. And the person’s just driving along with no clue that they have it. And I don’t want that to be me.
If I do see the debris in my mirror, then I can relax and continue with my drive. If I don’t see it after several seconds, there’s not much I can do. So I keep driving. I don’t do anything differently, but I do like knowing that nothing’s stuck to my car.
I had that problem once. A fast-food sandwich wrapper ended on my antenna, and I did not find it until I stopped at my destination. So I had been driving down the highway with paper stuck to the middle of my antenna, like a flag on a flagpole. I wasn’t embarrassed while I was driving, because I didn’t know that was there. But it was rather embarrassing to see my car once I got out of it.
Oh well.
“Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone {that} he is a fool. ”
– Ecclesiastes 10:3
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 8:04 pm and has been carefully placed in the Life category.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:16 pm
My kids rank littering right down there with smoking. If they see trash in the road they frantically point it out to me – “Mom! Litter! That’s bad!” They can ride with you and help you avoid wrappers and such.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
On the flip side, I intentionally swerve to hit squirrels and other small animals. It’s like a video game. Double-bonus if you hear a thump-thump, which means you got with both front and rear wheels.
January 25th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I am closing my eyes and swerving in my head just thinking about hitting an animal – alive or dead – and hearing the thump-thump.