Inner Talk

The need to be at a job five or six days a week, 10-12 hours a day is no longer there.  This means come, go, drive, walk, job, bike, rock and roll whenever and where ever I want.  This means a lot more drive time and less sit on my ass time.

I have to do inner talk before I hop in the truck and when I drive.  Like I'm the horse whisperer but I'm horsing around with myself (okayokayokay, in my head - get you mind out the gutter).....I whisper. . . almost a mantra, "People are stupid.  People are stupid.  They have no manners.  They have no manners.  No one ever taught them the correct way to drive.  No one.  They'll cut me off, piss me off, never use their turn signals, stop in the middle of the street caring less what anyone behind them does and then make their turn.  Be calm.  Be cool.  Don't lose it."  And so on.

I have a temper that can usually be controlled.  But I have to work it to keep it inside.  So I have to talk to myself.  Be calm, Bob, I say.  Don't get riled.  Smile.  Take your time.  Take defensive tactics when necessary to avoid a fender bender.  Leave that middle finger on the wheel and hand off of the horn.  Ain't worth the hassle.  Two wrongs don't make a right and you'd be just as wrong of some of these idiots by letting your temper fly.

What really gets my goat are people who text or put on make-up at stoplights and forget to watch for it turn green.  There they sit.  They sit until the light is about to turn red again.  Guess what?  They make the fricking light.  It turns red.  Everyone else has to wait for another green.  Grrrrrrrrrr.

Being irritated when someone cuts me off goes back to elementary school and lining up.  NO CUTS!  remember that?  Some folks didn't learn anything in school, did they?  Think about merging on the freeway.  Three miles before it happens, a sign warns, Merge left, right lane closed.  So 99% of everyone eventually merges left except a handful of bozos.  They scream down the right lane and attempt to merge just at the last moment when the two lanes turn into one.  These idiots, all about themselves clowns, take cuts.  Grrrrrrr.

Inner talk comes in handy.  I could easily get into road rage form 7 days weeks.  Not worth it.  Stress is bad, hurts the mind and body.  I've got all the time in the world, I tell myself.  Slow down. Smell the flowers.  Ignore the idiots.  They'll get theirs someday.

I turn on the truck's audio system, slide a CD into it and let the rest roll off of my back.