Rush Hour

Rush Hour

The cars were at a standstill, a twisted line of bumper to bumper
vehicles on
overcrowded streets. The people within, all locked in their secular
capsules of metal, all
with one goal in sight, just to get home.

The oppressive heat of the tea time city bore down upon the heads of
the travelers. The
"suits" were out in force, all with mobile phones attached as if from
birth to their Left
ears, jackets hanging from the handle above the rear window, ties
loosened and shirt
buttons released.

A man three cars ahead,driven to outrage by the heat and stress of his
day, finally snaps
and "flicks the bone" at a fella in the car behind who has begun to
beep his horn
impatiently A tussle of words ensues, foul obscenities screamed back
and forth between
the antagonists this keeps the inhabitants of the cars within watching
distance entertained
for some time. I wondered if this impromptu lip reading lesson would
perhaps assist me at
some time in the future. Probably not!

Strains of music drift lightly in the window along with the exhaust
emissions, donated
graciously by the other road users. Whitney, rap, opera, Celine; all
mixing and mingling to
become a cacophony of sound irritating to the senses.

Six cars behind me a man sits drumming his fingers on the steering
wheel, sweat pours
from his brow and his temper and frustration are building to the point
of eruption. If only
he knew that six minutes on, he would suffer a fatal Coronary leaving a
wife and three
children. Perhaps if he did, then the inconvenience of rush hour would
become for him a
time for quiet reflection and people watching.

I finally reach the junction and wait as an endless stream of slow
moving cars go
incessantly by me, as though along a conveyorbelt.

And then it happens: A tiny incident in an otherwise hectic day,
nothing earth shattering
or of great importance.

A lady stops in front of me and flashes me out before her. Our eyes
meet and we smile.
The Lady's smile does not stop at her lips; it reaches all the way up
to her eyes and is a
smile of warmth and friendliness for a fellow "ant" who also wants to
get home to her
family. I wave and mouth a "Thank you".

The frustrations and irritations of the day leave me ...and as I stop
to flash someone out
before me I give thanks for Curtesy.