yesterday i was doing some errands for my brother and sister. cruising down a wide avenue coming from a video store and headed toward a hardware store a woman in an extended-length minivan proceeded to make a left turn right in front of me in the direction of traffic. it happened just far enough in front of me that i had plenty of time to honk once, twice and then three times as i was alongside her in the ample bicycle lane. realizing she hadn’t seen me at all, but most likely had heard my horn, i cruised quickly past without any real angst.
she followed me down the avenue (minnehaha) until i took a left to park in front of the hardware store. then to my suprise she slowed down and shouted to me “I’m sorry I just didn’t see you, sorry.” very polite people came to mind as one of my favorite things about the midwest.
later i was recounting this same story to my brother and sister as we drove down the highway headed out to hear some music at a bar in st. paul. i had just spoken the words “very polite people,” when a fellow in a beat-up white caprice classic (who must have been tailgating my sister’s car) roars by on our right side with his meaty hand and prominently raised middle finger aiming at us.
as we were cruising the speed limit and didn’t even notice the guy initially, all we could say is
“what the hell?”