Gentlemen, Place Your Bets

Whew, I made it through the week without yelling at too many people. It was nice and warm, but I did get a few cooler nights, so I tried to do alot of driving after dusk. With my route, that is nearly impossible.

The floor drain was repaired, so my socks are nice and dry, but there seems to be an exhaust problem developing. I wouldn't be scared to say the flex pipe under my sleeper has a split in it somewhere, because after a short time driving, my entire sleeper floor is as hot as Georgia Asphalt. I have noticed that the floor does get a little warmer in hot weather, but I am referring to such intense heat that you cannot stand on it without shoes on, and even with shoes, you risk melting the soles! Seriously, the little strip of metal that separates carpet from rubber is too hot to touch. I burned my little foot!!

Oh well. I think I maintained a good attitude throughout the week, unless you consider the stress I deal with each and every time I fly through South Carolina. Out of all the states I travel through, SC gives me the biggest headache and my temperament for this stretch of road elevates to the level of (see blog title) anger! I loathe it with utter disdain.* We (SC and I) have a long sorted history. I am working to not this scenario get to me soooooo much, so this week, a friendly little wager was placed . I was to attempt to drive the 150 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina, to the Georgia border without losing my cool. First you must understand, I HATE this corridor. The rules of the wager included that I was to not make a single gesture that resulted from the way the idiots around me were behaving. Whether they (the others) were aware of it or not. No fingers gestures, no flashing lights, no horn blowing, no muttering insanity over the CB (yes, the truck drivers here are afflicted too) and no grumbling under my breath or at the top of my lungs.

I could have very well lied about my behavior, but I owned up to my failure. Within 31 miles, I smarted off to an idiot on the radio. And a mere 17 miles later a four wheeler got the best of me. Both incidents were reflex, and I alerted Shadow immediately. I have failed miserably.

For my payment, I will be required to wear a certain article of clothing while driving through the state, until I can rein in my reactions and somewhat adjust my attitude. **

And just for the record, I only hold contempt for this short passage. I can face NYC gridlock with a song in my heart and kind words abounding. I suppose I expect traffic to get a little nasty up north, after all, they only have 3 lanes in each direction... Other Cities, where the interstates can get up a total of 16 lanes wide, there is no rhyme or reason to the madness.

* I am not saying that people who live in South Carolina are idiots, just the people who drive there!!

** The shirt is PINK, not my favorite color!!