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Friday, August 9, 2013

You just can't please some people

I guess some people are just not happy no matter what you do.
The other weekend, the Missus and I loaded the van, hooked up our travel trailer and off we went to spend a couple days communing with nature in all its glory.
But this time, basking the warmth of God's creation would include man's creation of electricity and water hookups. Typically, we do not camp where there are such luxuries, but we had them this time and we were going to use them.
And seeing as our trailer was parked among the pines, it still counts as camping.
It may not have been roughing it in the sense of our founding fathers who trudged through the blazing heat of summer, the frigid nights of winter, slept on pine needles and used leaves and sticks as bathroom accessories, but two of the speakers on our four-speaker sound system were not working so we had to endure two days of sub-standard listening. It was rough, but we got through it and when you leave your big house to go live in your little house on wheels, concessions of luxury must be made.
Anyway, towing a 17-foot trailer with a mini-van is not conducive to breaking any land speed records.
I realize this and I appreciate how frustrating it can be to get stuck behind Joe tourist as he plods down the road at a much lower speed than the maximum posted limit.
It can be annoying to say the least, especially when there is no place to pass. A long line of vehicles quickly forms and people do some really stupid stuff to try and get ahead of the pack and pass the slowpoke who is holding up traffic.
I must admit, in my younger days, I was one of those boneheads who took unnecessary chances just to get ahead of the gaggle of automobiles.
I was not the most patient driver in the world and I was not alone in my loathing for the tourista in the RV, or Johnny Go Slow who just can't seem to maintain 90 km/h.
That is why when I am pulling my trailer I do my best to get out of the way. There is no way I am going to maintain the speed limit going up hills, so when I get the chance, I edge off to the side of the road and even slow down a little so those frustrated motorists in the rearview mirror can safely pass and be on their merry way.
And that is exactly what I did on our latest excursion. After climbing a steep hill I found a section of road where I could safely drive on the edge.
I hit the right-side turn signal, eased over and slowed down. For some reason the guy in the red truck behind me also slowed down to match my pace. I continued to crawl along the edge of the road and there was no oncoming traffic so Mr. Red Truck could easily pass, but instead he kept slowing down.
Now, anyone with an IQ greater than a turnip knows I am pulling over so they can pass.
Eventually this dipstick figured it out and passed me – while flipping me the bird.
Technically I did not have to pull over and could have left it up to those in line to wait for a chance to pass and then have a little stock car race to see how many cars can get past the guy towing the trailer.
But that was the exact situation I was trying to avoid.
Everyone else in line figured it out, and a few waved with all five fingers as they passed, but for some reason Mr. Red Truck felt I was worthy of the 'driver salute.'
That particular gesture usually evokes an anger response, but this time it was met with amusement because how can you get mad at someone who is dumber than a vegetable.

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