Traffic

I hate traffic. Luckily, I don’t see it on the way to work. If I get to the radio station at 4:30am I consider myself late. When I head up West Park, from downtown Houma, there are stop lights still blinking yellow and I get to cruise right through them. I do go the speed limit because I often see police and don’t want them to think I’m going home after drinking. I approach major intersections and if those lights are green I get to buzz through them, too. Ah...life is good… at 4am.

When I get off of work, early afternoon, it’s a different story. Through the years Houma has grown around me. We have traffic, not enough to induce road rage, but if you’re late for something or trying to get something done in a hurry it will aggravate and get you thinking.

“Look at this idiot, slowing down for a green light,” “Turn damn it; you’ve had your blinker on for the last three miles.” And, if you live in our town, “Oh great, the tunnel’s closed now everybody is going to use the twin span. Traffics gonna back up, I’ll be late…Damn it!”

This mild rant changed on Friday.

“Oh crap, a freakin’ school bus. This thing is going to stop at every dang corner and I can’t get around it... Oh, jeez, come on kid… get to the house… Oh look, his book bag is heavier than he is… Why do schools do that?…He is cute, lugging those books…That’s funny…That must be his sister…Oh cool, she’s helping him, that’s sweet… He’s lucky to have a big sister… I got a big sister…Oh, come on kids, hurry up… Your parents are right there... Yeah, yeah, yeah, they love you. Kissy, kissy, huggy, huggy. I got things to do… Finally, y’all made it… Good deal. Everybody’s safe…Now hurry, wave to the other kids…You’ll see them tomorrow…Flaps move back…Bus starts rollin’…and I'm oughta here.

Twenty less children will not return from school today.

How dare I be so selfish?