2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Chuck Brown)
A work friend and I were having a heated debate because she is wrong about something and I’m right. Here it is. I’d appreciate your opinion (if you agree with me).
I’m from a pretty small town. Recently, the bridge on our main street suffered some damage and it’s now closed. We don’t know when it will reopen.
Fortunately, there is another bridge. It’s not too far out of the way but it’s only one lane. There are no flaggers or stop signs or temporary traffic lights.
That means when we get to the one-lane bridge, we have to kind of look across to the other side and, if nothing is coming our way, get onto that bridge and claim the right of way. Since there are no written rules, we’re all making up our own unwritten rules. Some of us have it right and some of us are morons.
The other day, I was headed home from work, and I could see that a few cars were getting on the bridge travelling the same direction as me. Perfect. I could just tuck in behind them at the end of the line and get across.
But ...
the driver in front of me stopped. They just stopped for no reason. I spoke only to myself to avoid any road rage situations: No! Don’t stop! We’re a team.
We were moving. We need to keep the line going. Well, this person had other thoughts.
Guess they had nowhere to be. It makes complete sense to me that if traffic is moving one direction on the one-way bridge, all the cars going that way should go until there is a break in the action. At that point, cars travelling the other way can take over the bridge.
Like I said, it’s a small town. Nobody is waiting for 20 minutes to cross. Let all the cars go one way.
It will take a few minutes at the most. Unless ..
. we adopt my friend’s plan. Get this.
She believes in her heart that we should be taking turns crossing the bridge. One car goes one way then a car comes the other way. Back, forth.
Forth, back. I told her she can’t do this. She can’t try to make this the unwritten rule for our one-way bridge.
This is insanity. I can’t sit by and watch it happen. This would be like a ferry making its crossings one car at a time.
It would be like getting up from the couch, walking into the kitchen, picking up one potato chip, bringing it back to the couch, eating it, then doing the whole thing over again 174 more times. Actually, maybe that’s a good idea for chips. I’d get some steps in for sure.
It makes no sense for our bridge, but I’m worried about losing the battle. Another friend said she is also a stopper. She’s not a one-at-a-time supporter but she said if it looks like the line on the opposite side of the bridge is getting long, she’ll stop and wait and let all those vehicles cross.
I find this kind of caring and compassion for our fellow citizens to be dangerous and idiotic. At least if we all used the first-come, first-served, every person for themselves mentality — we’d have some predictability. This attitude of patience and selflessness and taking turns is abnormal, unnatural and it’s going to cause an accident.
On this little bridge, it will be a low-speed accident but still. Worst Word of the Week: Reader Carol cringes when she says, “Thank you” and the response is, “No problem.”.
