I am in mourning today. Just on the heels of bragging about my driving skills a few days ago, I am served with my first ever "infraction." Oh, how the mighty fall, and great is the fall thereof! I guess it wasn't enough to be made a fool of in my car towing friends by driving with my e-brake on and nearly having one of my wheels fall off. I rationalized that by saying that I still had a perfect driving record, but that my car did not. No more.
Oh, and that time I backed up into the taillight of a parked car also didn't count, because that didn't go on my permanent record and neither the cops nor the insurance agencies ever got a whiff of it.
Mind you, I had been in many a car that had been pulled over, but it had never been me in the driver's seat. Let me bask in its glow for one last time: for ten freakin' years! You know, most kids are idiot drivers, and they promptly get pulled over as they exit the DMV with their newly minted license. I had been a shining pillar of driving excellence to the community, err---either that, or I've been extremely lucky.
Well, the hefty fine slammed on my head makes up for all of my riotous driving over the years that I got away with. I suppose that I have no other choice but to press onward through life, to select that D with the circle around it instead of the N or even worse the R. I don't know what my hurry was. The interloping officer posed me that question, and I now realize that I don't need to be going so hastily.
Ironically, on the same day as my "infraction", I ran a red light, texted people while driving, and somehow forgot to wear my seatbelt all day long (including during the traffic stop). Take that, world! Take your silly rules and shove it!
Yellow Square seemed to be delighted at my fall from grace; she lectured me on "defeatism" and pride.
Honestly, it's sorta cathartic. You don't realize how much pressure there is on you, trying to keep up a perfect driving record. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore. I can let go. I can finally breathe deeply. I can now get on with my life. Maybe it's the one thing left I needed to have happen, before I reach self-actualization.
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