I have tried to lessen the bitching on my blog...I have tried to accept that people drive the way that they do
I have tried not to take it personally
yet...
I can not help to have some emotion brought into the equation
especially when the lives and safety of my children is involved
last night my six year old son Grant asked me to play some soccer with him in the alley after dinner
I was hesitant
my body was tired and my legs were sore
my right quad muscle is strained from soccer and is agitated by soccer
while I am still recovering from the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms
I figured I could manage a little passing back and forth
so we took to the alley behind our house
it is an amusing game passing with a six year old
while I am passing to my son
his objective is to get the ball past me
anything that goes past me is considered a goal
which means... Grant is not passing to me... Grant is trying to kick the ball past me
this has me chasing the ball a little more than I would like to
it is early evening
it is not yet dark
our alley dead ends into the woods which means that there is not much through traffic... not much traffic at all actually
usually just residents from the block
it is post dinner so most of the residents who drive and park in their garages must have already come home because there is not much car traffic through the alley
our game has altered from the passing game to me rolling the ball to Grant so he can work on kicking a bouncing ball
bouncy and baby bouncy... as if we are playing kickball
I am impressed by his efforts and am anxious at the thought that I do not play enough soccer with my boys
the thought of travel soccer tryouts for my older son comes to surface
while I practice with Grant I think about my older son Dean doing his homework and how I should really carve out some time where we can play some soccer together to try and polish the skills he has so he has a better chance of moving from rec soccer to travel soccer
Grant and I are just doing our thing when a car comes screaming down the alley
the alley feeds down a small hill for 30 yards then makes a sweeping less than 90 degree turn
there is some sound of tire skidding as the driver brakes hard
Grant scurries out of the way responding to the shocking noise of the fast approaching car
it is not a close call... there is plenty of space between us
Grant and I stand by the side and wait for the driver of a brand new 2010 VW with paper tags drives the length of the alley to his house at the end of the block
the driver waves as he passes... I refuse to wave back
my blood boils
his move from a BMW to a VW has not altered his love for driving obnoxiously fast in the alley
I think to myself about the appropriate course of action
this man is an adult
I think about the appropriate way to deal with him
for as long as I have lived here this man has driven down the alley with the same level of intensity
even though he is a father of two small daughters roughly the ages of my boys
he somehow can not grasp the dangers of his driving style in the alley behind our house
as my blood boils my mind races
all sorts of "worst case scenarios" run through my brain
I think of my children and all the other children that gather in the alley to play any of a variety of games... soccer... pogo sticks, skateboards, scooters, and of course bikes
it is not at all unlikely for a couple of kids to be at the base of that short hill playing four square or to have a cluster of children on an assortment of wheeled vehicles racing around the corner then up and down that short hill
I think about this "worst case scenario"
I question this man's motivation and his inability to grasp the concept of the dangers of his driving style
the thought of the 15 MPH speed limit is not so much of an issue as the concept of COMMON SENSE and COMMON COURTESY
I think I will just send an email message to the block... reminding people that they need to drive respectfully in the alley
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