There are all sorts of drivers out there

 Another story - another day

Driving back from an exhausting meeting a few weeks ago, three things happened in a span of an hour that set me thinking. There are some careless and irresponsible drivers out there, and then there are some bizarre clowns.

The first was ‘actually’ a first for me, and something I had never seen before. A man in a rather weather-beaten Honda Civic, was first tailgating and then flashing an ambulance!

Now I am not sure whether the ambulance had an occupant or not, but that is beside the point. The audacity of the act itself, took me by surprise. Not only is tailgating a punishable offence but flashing an ambulance should soon be added to the list if it is not already there. It is just not on & I consider it the height of impudence.

The second was a rather humongous vehicle, a tanker of some sorts, with about 16 wheels, which was carrying some hazardous liquid - all 36,000 litres of it. It had the word ‘DANGER’ printed in large red letters on both sides. I would like to believe I am quite a prudent & cautious driver, but the guy of the vehicle in question, was either a novice or else, like me at times - had a poor sense of direction! (I now use Google maps)

Whenever I see such vehicles, my senses go on high alert and I have, in the past, imagined the worst, when passing them.

However, that’s another story, so let me set the scene for you here.

We were both driving parallel to each other at a steady 80 kmph on a lovely wide road. He was on my right. Suddenly, he veered towards me, as he saw an exit to my left and obviously wanted to use the approaching flyover. Indicators on, he bulldozed his way across my path, almost sideswiping me in the bargain. I cursed under my breath and let it pass. Fifteen seconds later, he was back in front of me as he had changed his mind and about a hundred meters down the road, he finally exited to the right. If that was not dangerous driving what is.

Then came the mother of all drivers, literally and figuratively speaking.

I had probably slowed down a bit, when suddenly, out of nowhere, I spotted a lady in a small white car – probably a ‘Tida’- flashing me furiously from behind. To get my attention she even sounded her horn a few times. I was in the fast lane and the road we were on was quite empty as it was afternoon, so I pulled to my right to let her pass by. However, as she came up on my left side she slowed down, lowered her window glass, and gestured me to do so. I followed instructions, all the time wondering what the matter was. She then waved & simultaneously shouted out a question- “which way to Global village”?

If I had my way, if it were possible, and if I knew how, I would have got out and punctured her tires – yes, all four of them. Couldn’t she follow road signs?

My gentlemanly instincts soon got the better of me & I immediately remembered how I had got horribly lost when going to the global village last year and a couple of times before as well, so I smiled and asked her to follow me. She did so for about three km and I then signalled to her to branch off to the right, as I carried on.

On hindsight now , I have learnt just one way to get to the Global village and we were nowhere near that road so I probably sent her off in the wrong direction .

There are all sorts of drivers out there

 Another story - another day

Driving back from an exhausting meeting a few weeks ago, three things happened in a span of an hour that set me thinking. There are some careless and irresponsible drivers out there, and then there are some bizarre clowns.

The first was ‘actually’ a first for me, and something I had never seen before. A man in a rather weather-beaten Honda Civic, was first tailgating and then flashing an ambulance!

Now I am not sure whether the ambulance had an occupant or not, but that is beside the point. The audacity of the act itself, took me by surprise. Not only is tailgating a punishable offence but flashing an ambulance should soon be added to the list if it is not already there. It is just not on & I consider it the height of impudence.

The second was a rather humongous vehicle, a tanker of some sorts, with about 16 wheels, which was carrying some hazardous liquid - all 36,000 litres of it. It had the word ‘DANGER’ printed in large red letters on both sides. I would like to believe I am quite a prudent & cautious driver, but the guy of the vehicle in question, was either a novice or else, like me at times - had a poor sense of direction! (I now use Google maps)

Whenever I see such vehicles, my senses go on high alert and I have, in the past, imagined the worst, when passing them.

However, that’s another story, so let me set the scene for you here.

We were both driving parallel to each other at a steady 80 kmph on a lovely wide road. He was on my right. Suddenly, he veered towards me, as he saw an exit to my left and obviously wanted to use the approaching flyover. Indicators on, he bulldozed his way across my path, almost sideswiping me in the bargain. I cursed under my breath and let it pass. Fifteen seconds later, he was back in front of me as he had changed his mind and about a hundred meters down the road, he finally exited to the right. If that was not dangerous driving what is.

Then came the mother of all drivers, literally and figuratively speaking.

I had probably slowed down a bit, when suddenly, out of nowhere, I spotted a lady in a small white car – probably a ‘Tida’- flashing me furiously from behind. To get my attention she even sounded her horn a few times. I was in the fast lane and the road we were on was quite empty as it was afternoon, so I pulled to my right to let her pass by. However, as she came up on my left side she slowed down, lowered her window glass, and gestured me to do so. I followed instructions, all the time wondering what the matter was. She then waved & simultaneously shouted out a question- “which way to Global village”?

If I had my way, if it were possible, and if I knew how, I would have got out and punctured her tires – yes, all four of them. Couldn’t she follow road signs?

My gentlemanly instincts soon got the better of me & I immediately remembered how I had got horribly lost when going to the global village last year and a couple of times before as well, so I smiled and asked her to follow me. She did so for about three km and I then signalled to her to branch off to the right, as I carried on.

On hindsight now , I have learnt just one way to get to the Global village and we were nowhere near that road so I probably sent her off in the wrong direction .

United in sympathies

 UNITED IN SYMPATHIES

 Decades from now the world will remember this unrelenting pandemic 

Moreover, wonder how we made it through . The year the Grim Reaper decided to make a stop over 

 Wielding a sharpened scythe and harvesting at will

 Family gatherings will suddenly turn nostalgic ‘Covid’, will be discussed, and 2020 revisited – painfully 

Those poor wretched brave souls whose toil was in vain 

 Many of who would have passed on

 A single candle will be lit 

and fervent prayers recited 

 The melodious chants of well-loved hymns 

will echo in the wind 

 On a cold, dark, wintery night 

 There will be stories and tears 

and families will reminisce 

On the good old days which were suddenly turned upside down

 Lockdowns, masks, social distancing and contact tracing

 Symptomatic, Asymptomatic, containment and herd immunity 

Incubation, screening, super spreader& ventilator .

May just be words by then – mere words

 But what of now 

 These, are words we shudder to repeat 

 As they force us to conjure images 

Of harrowing disease, agonizing suffering Unbearable pain and excruciating death 

 Of loved ones, of friends, colleagues and others Who continue to depart this world

 And fade into oblivion with grim regularity. 

 We reach out- console their grieving families And extend a helping hand 

 Then life goes on as before 

 Yes – we question our own mortality 

 While pondering on matters, 

better left unsaid 

 Today, we are united by sympathies 

 Therefore, what still divides us?

United in sympathies

 UNITED IN SYMPATHIES

 Decades from now the world will remember this unrelenting pandemic 

Moreover, wonder how we made it through . The year the Grim Reaper decided to make a stop over 

 Wielding a sharpened scythe and harvesting at will

 Family gatherings will suddenly turn nostalgic ‘Covid’, will be discussed, and 2020 revisited – painfully 

Those poor wretched brave souls whose toil was in vain 

 Many of who would have passed on

 A single candle will be lit 

and fervent prayers recited 

 The melodious chants of well-loved hymns 

will echo in the wind 

 On a cold, dark, wintery night 

 There will be stories and tears 

and families will reminisce 

On the good old days which were suddenly turned upside down

 Lockdowns, masks, social distancing and contact tracing

 Symptomatic, Asymptomatic, containment and herd immunity 

Incubation, screening, super spreader& ventilator .

May just be words by then – mere words

 But what of now 

 These, are words we shudder to repeat 

 As they force us to conjure images 

Of harrowing disease, agonizing suffering Unbearable pain and excruciating death 

 Of loved ones, of friends, colleagues and others Who continue to depart this world

 And fade into oblivion with grim regularity. 

 We reach out- console their grieving families And extend a helping hand 

 Then life goes on as before 

 Yes – we question our own mortality 

 While pondering on matters, 

better left unsaid 

 Today, we are united by sympathies 

 Therefore, what still divides us?

You

 You

The untamed rivers are running their course.

And emptying themselves into the expansive, tempestuous seas

Only to refill and repeat the process afresh.

Day after day and night after night.

Yes – day after day and night after night.

The great horned owl hoots.

And the deadliest jaws hunt

And the weak are chased down and devoured mercilessly

It’s the circle of life.

Day after day and night after night

The scorching sun rises in the east, and sets in the west.

And the sequin – silver stars appear in the night- time sky.

And we gaze up and stare with wonder

At Polaris, Sirius, Antares and Rigel

Without even blinking our eyes

And everything is so foreseeable & predictable.

In this amazing universe

And then there’s you.

You

 You

The untamed rivers are running their course.

And emptying themselves into the expansive, tempestuous seas

Only to refill and repeat the process afresh.

Day after day and night after night.

Yes – day after day and night after night.

The great horned owl hoots.

And the deadliest jaws hunt

And the weak are chased down and devoured mercilessly

It’s the circle of life.

Day after day and night after night

The scorching sun rises in the east, and sets in the west.

And the sequin – silver stars appear in the night- time sky.

And we gaze up and stare with wonder

At Polaris, Sirius, Antares and Rigel

Without even blinking our eyes

And everything is so foreseeable & predictable.

In this amazing universe

And then there’s you.

Wake up and smell the roses

 WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES

(A 4.45 am weekend thought )

Have you ever wondered why people behave the way they do?

Punching below their weight- intentionally!

being critical and confrontational,

While attempting to validate alleged grievances .

Are they just captious perfectionists?

Entangled in mystifying arguments with themselves?

Or nebby, boisterous, busybodies- acting on a whim?

Taking it upon themselves

to sweep the Augean stables clean.

Why do otherwise principled, right thinking, intelligent humans, behave irrationally?

Totally out of sync with their habitual, ethical selves

and think nothing of it.

Topic for a dissertation maybe?

Is it trepidation, apprehension, anxiety, over thinking?

Is it a, ‘yeah I am awesome syndrome’?

Or could it be an inflated ego, and over estimation of self-worth?

Is it one of these or an amalgamation of the above?

One minute all is quiet on the western front.

Music, peace, friends, laughter, tranquility-

and then without warning,

or so much as a, ‘by your leave’,

Or a, ‘may I please’

Pandemonium ensues and the world knows it .

Off they go on an irrevocable tangent.

Cursing the rainbow and cuddling serpents!

Spiralling out of control – frenzied, raving, and ranting

Refusing to listen to reason, logic, or even common sense.

They become unpredictable, unresponsive, ludicrous & irrational

Lashing out

And often throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Is it letting feelings override facts?

Is it decision paralysis?

Is it perception based on biases?

Or are they just befuddled, bewildered and punch- drunk?

Zoned out Angels can start to grow horns- can’t they?

Wake up and smell the roses!

Or the coffee if you will!

Life is all about choices.

About fulfilling purposes and accomplishing goals

Its an aspect of existence