Life with Suzie - Shifting a gear

One thing about my Suzie that is very endearing is her sunny disposition and her ability to see the best in everything. She is fun to be with and is always positive............well almost always positive, in most circumstances.

I have recently been noticing though that there are some circumstances that are like the proverbial red rag to a bull. Don't mess with her when she is behind the wheel of her car.

We pulled in at a service station to fill up on a road trip recently and had to queue up for petrol. While she was waiting in the car with Jason and the two grandsons, Karen and I popped into the shop to buy some munchies - and so missed the fun.

When it was her turn to fill up, someone despite being waved off by the petrol attendant, jumped the queue and pulled in before her. If there is one thing that Suzie hates it is injustice. In this case it was the arrogance of driver and I quote, "What makes him think he had the right to push in like that, when everyone else has been waiting their turn."

Shortly afterwards she was directed to another pump and while the car was being filled, she went over to the offender and  told him he was, "an arrogant old man". Well the last word was not exactly "man". Even loosely interpreted. That is because it started with an "A" and ended with an "E". Though he tried to justify his action, he was never going to win that argument and was left thoroughly chastised.

By the time Karen and I got back to the car Jason had returned to to a normal sitting position, after cringing down with embarassment.

I thought it was very funny and that it was an isolated incident. So I am wrong sometimes.

On the way to the Addo Rose and Garden Show today, traffic ground to a halt at Motherwell as a large contingent of cars, in a funeral procession, had to wait to turn right into the cemetary in the face of the oncoming traffic. Undeterred by this, several minibus taxis passed on the shoulder on our left, only to cut  back into the traffic at the front of the queue.

Then some fellow in a white Izusu bakkie (van, ute) decided to emulate the example of the taxi drivers. His first problem was that the  road shoulder narrowed at this point, as it was obstructed by a telephone pole. His second problem was that he tried to cut in front of Suzie, in a very narrow gap. Much to his surprise he was blasted by the rather shrill horn of the Daihatsu Materia, which caused him to slam on his brakes. At this point the traffic stopped again and Suzie leaned across me and gave him the finger.

He wound down his window and what he said was completely lost, because we pulled off as the traffic started to move. Again,  "What makes him think he had the right to push in like that." It was a statement rather than a question.

The fellow then cut in front of the car behind us, but kept a rather large following distance behind us and eventually also turned in at the Addo Rose Show, where his car merged with the many white bakkies in the car park and disappeared.

Suzie does not stay angry for long, it is a quick flash and then it is over.  By now she had forgotten the incident and we enjoyed our visit to the show and had a fun day.

Just in case you get the impression that Suzie is some sort of psycho when she gets behind the wheel, she is not. These were two very, very isolated incidents, which I found amusing. This was probably due to the fact that when we were much younger she would insist on driving in town, when the roads were busy, because I was so impossible and impatient when driving in traffic in those days.