Cider Press Hill

She needed her coffee

After I dropped the lad off at the bus for his track meet this morning, I zipped on down to Dunkin Donuts. Now lets see if I can explain this—there is an intersection right by DD. Three lanes and the right lane is, traditionally, the Dunkin Donuts lane. There was a woman in the car next to me, in the middle lane. She was all agitated, talking forcefully and pounding on her steering wheel. The light was red and she crept forward with impatience. I crept forward, too. She inched forward a little more and kept up with her animated discussion and steering wheel pounding. I got the impression that she was going to rocket when the light turned green and cut me off.

Which she did. So I made a quick turn at the intersection and cruised in to the Dunkin Donuts side entrance—into the drive-up line. By anyone’s standards, I Was There First.  She saw me and really got agitated. Being a Massachusetts driver, I nosed my car as close to the last car in line as I could. I figured she’d cave before hitting me. But no. Being a longer term Massachusetts driver, she backed her car up and moved it over about a foot and brought the nose of her car so close to the bumper of the car in front of me that she effectively cut me off. It was quite a smooth move. I tip my hat to her.

Screw it, I thought. I drove around everyone in line, parked in front of DD and went inside. Three people in line. I got my coffee within a minute or two of walking in the store. And passed some pleasantries with the staff who know me rather well. As I walked back to my car, I saw the angry woman still several cars back in the drive up line.

Ooh, I thought. This is too good to pass up.

So I got in the car and drove around the drive-up loop again. When I came to her car, I stopped beside her, raised my coffee and smacked my lips. She glared daggers and grenades. As I put my car in gear and started to drive off, I saw her pounding on her steering wheel and yelling. Whatever her issues were this morning, I still got my coffee first and didn’t have to act like a total jerk to get it. Maybe just a little bit of a jerk. I mean, really. A truly mature adult would have walked out of the store, climbed in the car and just driven off.

But it just felt so good to raise my coffee cup to her. It really did.

Posted on 02/05/05 at 10:53 AM
 




Linkmeister

I should deplore your behavior, I really should, but....wink

United States   Posted by Linkmeister on 02/05/05  at  01:31 PM





Kate

I like to think of it as my creative temper tantrum outlet. smile

United States   Posted by Kate on 02/05/05  at  01:42 PM





N in Seattle

How anticlimactic it would have been if she had simply made eye-contact with you at the red light, gesturing that she wanted to turn in to DD.  You would have let her in, and then everyone could have just sat quietly in the drive-through line.

This was much, much better.  That is, as long as she wasn’t the sort who might whip out a weapon and take out her frustrations in that manner.

United States   Posted by N in Seattle on 02/05/05  at  02:07 PM





Kate

Had the anticlimactic scenario played out, I wouldn’t have written about it. Happens that way often enough, especially during tourist season. People get stuck in the wrong lane. It happens. Most people don’t go all ballistic and aggressive over it, though. And I usually don’t mind letting people cut over into the right lane.

At first I thought maybe she was just having a very bad, horrible day. But she took time out of her massive steering wheel pounding attack to have a short and smiley chat with someone who walked past her car and stopped to admire her cute little fuzzy white dog. Then she returned to screaming and pounding on her steering wheel when I moved my car closer to the car in front of me in the drive-up line. That’s what really ignited my fuse.

But I’m glad she didn’t have a weapon.

United States   Posted by Kate on 02/05/05  at  02:34 PM





Chloe

I wouldn’t suggest doing that with a fresh cup of Dunkin Donuts hot cocoa - you could’ve accidentally gotten a scalded lap w/ 3rd degree burns!  haha.  Their hot cocoa is served at upwards of boiling I swear!

United States   Posted by Chloe on 02/07/05  at  12:33 AM





Dave

That’s just… Oh… I mean…

Marry me?

-D.

United States   Posted by Dave on 02/07/05  at  07:58 AM





Kate

LOL!  Y’all are just being too nice to say, “Geez, what a brat!”

United States   Posted by Kate on 02/07/05  at  02:01 PM





Dave

Not really.  I (and probably most of us) would have loved to have had the opportunity to do the same thing. 

I know a lot of people like that, sadly.  Too busy being angry to address the problem correctly.  Sad, really.

But still.  I’d have done the same thing as you.  I probably would have been meaner, actually.

United States   Posted by Dave on 02/08/05  at  07:41 AM





Kate

It’s funny...or not, but I saw another driver this morning headed out of town and she was flipping out in her car, too. She wasn’t in my immediate sphere so she didn’t register anything more than the observation. I wondered though—what is making people so angry around here. It’s a small town, traffic isn’t that bad. People are way too stressed.

United States   Posted by Kate on 02/08/05  at  09:12 AM





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Cider Press Hill

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