(dave e): Man vs. Mercedes

March 12, 2004

Man vs. Mercedes

This afternoon, I saw a guy so angry at a car half-blocking the crosswalk at Georgia Avenue and Wayne Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland that he kicked the car's very shiny bumper as he passed by. When the car's driver flailed about, shouting something-or-other about "don't kick my car, dude," the angry, kicking pedestrian put his several things down on the sidewalk, threw his arms up, and ran toward the car, hurtling himself up against the passenger-side window, banging on the roof with his fists.

And I didn't even think to think of Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy. Damn. Because it was just like that.

Posted by dave at March 12, 2004 6:36 PM | TrackBack

Comments

You know, I've dreamed of the day when I would have the self-assurance to pull a "Ratso Rizzo" on an inattentive driver. Somehow, I think that if I could just once shout at the lousy driver, "Hey, I'm walkin' here!" the world would be a better place.

Kudos to the dude who took on the Mercedes.

Posted by: chuck at March 13, 2004 12:24 AM | Permalink to Comment

Yikes. Hope you were well out of the way of both car and walkrage!Pedestrian

Posted by: alianora at March 13, 2004 2:11 PM | Permalink to Comment

yeah, the thing about this guy is that he had a good hundred pounds on ratso. i'm down with his efforts to assert some pedestrian authority, and i am all about getting oblivious drivers to pay attention, but he actually kind of scared me.

confrontation ranks low on my list of favorite things. the possibility of violent confrotation sends my stomach up to my throat and my heart down to my gut. i really thought this guy was going to open the door, yank the driver out, and beat on him for a while.

i have a bad habit of shaking my crotchety fist at bad drivers. "stupid habit," is probably a better description, given how often road rage turns into felonious assault. yesterday's scene was one of those things that ought to keep my scrawny arse in check.

Posted by: dave at March 13, 2004 2:36 PM | Permalink to Comment

Actually, acording to Barry Glassner's book on "Fear," the road rage stories are kind of a myth, but I *did* have some guy try to run me off the road once so he could pick a fight with me because I was driving too slow in a blinding snowstorm. Scary stuff.

I wouldn't *really* want to pull a Ratso Rizzo. I'm kind of a wimp and I actually don't like confrontation at all.

Posted by: chuck at March 13, 2004 2:45 PM | Permalink to Comment

midnight cowboy. urban cowboy. i'm always getting these titles confused. bless chuck and dave for helping me out. and hey! if you two want to really avoid confrontation, how about *not* joining me on location for my new documentary concept-- son of urban cowboy. the one where i roll my scrawny arse through pasadena, tx and expose the newly-rural in this erstwhile urban home to Gilley's and mechanical bull/budweiser rage. 8 seconds on el toro, anyone?