There's Always Going to be Construction

Do people not realize how ridiculous they look cussing at the top of their lungs in their vehicles at traffic as a result of construction? Granted, we haven’t moved more than a smart car length in the past 10 minutes but screaming? Really? There’s only a couple of things that occur because of those screams; one, it makes you look like an idiot and two, it makes your girlfriend in the passenger seat duck and hide of embarrassment. What it doesn’t do is make the road pave itself. I recognize that what I just wrote is quite obvious to anyone in their right mind and yet here and now, I witness a fellow in an SUV determined to make a path through all the rush hour with the power of his voice and the ridiculous expressions in his face.

Here in my truck, I’m doing a different kind of screaming. With my windows down I’m blasting Gaslight Anthem’s American Slang album and singing at the top of my lungs. This traffic is no surprise to me anymore for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that I have been commuting through this construction zone for the majority of the summer. I wave at the girl that holds the “slow” sign almost every morning and I solute the guy that holds it in the evening. In fact, I’m so glad that they are finally working on this pothole-infested surface. Last year I almost wiped out on my motorcycle because of these little gate ways to hell! I remember that day clearly because while I was riding I was thinking about something terrible that I did earlier. My momma was trying to start a conversation with me, asking me a few questions that really started to annoy me. They were not annoying questions but I guess I wasn’t in the mood. After a few short replies she got the hint and left me alone. I felt bad as I thought about it, cruising through the streets on that motorcycle and suddenly swerving around a pothole that snuck up on me. I realized that I really had to work on talking nicer to my momma. And I’ve been working on it ever since.

The second? A week ago while engulfed in a cloud of bad mood, I illegally U-turned out of the cluster of automobiles in search of a more easy flowing route. I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and the freedom through my fingers as my hand reaches out through the windows into forever. And I found it! For two blocks. I once again found myself surrounded by vehicles, all eager for another way. And it wasn’t until I was half way through cursing the damn traffic that I noticed a child in the red mini van beside me, laughing.

“What the fuck are you laughing at kid?” I thought, “What do you know about being late for a meeting?” But that laughing kid will get through this construction zone as quickly as I will. The difference is, he would have had a more pleasant journey through.

There’s always going to be construction no matter where you go. Screaming won’t help any. I know that now. And I’m working on it, screaming at the top of my lungs to some good music.