angry drivers

mean people suck! and i mean that in the kindest way possible. but have you ever thought about all of the negative energy floating around out there that is such a waste of intelligent thought and productivity? let me tell you what happened to me: firstly, i am the most directionally challenged person you will ever meet. i get lost going to church in my small town (as in 7000 people, 1 main street, no stoplights) if i don't go the same way every time. we've lived here for 5 years. so, it was briar's first day of tap class, and procrastinator that i am we had no noisy shoes. so i robbed her from school a little early (gotta get the right fit, ya know) and set off to find the dance supply store, which i've been to, armed with the phonebook (so i could look up the address and call them just in case i got lost). i confused 7th street with 7th ave. and ended up in one of my favorite parts of town - lots of older homes and hilly, narrow streets. i must have run a stop-sign or cut this woman off, i'm not sure, but all of the sudden i hear this loud, insistent honking. but i can't see where it is coming from (blind spot?). i look all around and still see nothing, so i slow down, and...ZOOM! suddenly this trendy SUV is right behind me, honking still. i start to pull over and i notice there is some wild hand gesticulation going on...i'm kind of unsuspecting and always willing to give the benefit of the doubt, so i say to myself: this woman can't possibly be giving me the bird, can she? i now know i made her angry by something i did with my vehicle, so i pull over and lift my hands and mouth "i'm so sorry". still, i have no idea what i did. she shakes (snaps, more like it) her head angrily and begins screaming at me...i can't hear it, cuz i thankfully kept my windows rolled up, but i can see spittle flying and unfortunately, some of her foul language was not lost in lip-reading translation. she's red in the face and positively screeching at me...i'm glad the kids were in the back and as such blind to this commotion as well as soundproofed. i kept trying to apologize, but she wouldn't have it. which i don't understand, b/c what else could i do? i truly was sorry, and on the verge of tears at this point. for some reason, whenever someone gets angry with me, justified or not, i feel an inch tall and can't help but turn on the waterworks. she finally gives me a double bird, dramatically waving both hands at me and telling me what she wants me to do with myself, and speeds off. i sat there shaking and trying to compose myself, and then kept driving. by that point, i really had a hard time finding the shop. my mind was completely disoriented and befuddled. i think she would have physically attacked me had i left my vehicle. whatever i did, it was completely inadvertent. as if i would purposefully endanger myself, this woman, or my four children. what was most apalling of all? as she drove away i caught a glimpse of multiple carseats in the back of her stylish ride.