Tom Finneran: “Drive,” She Said…
Friday, April 25, 2014
I know, I know, I see the answer in the mirror every morning. I’m as big a jerk as anyone, practically a techie-terrorist, constantly checking text messages and email at every traffic light and tying up cars behind me. How selfish. How rude. How totally self-centered. Although at least in my defense, I don’t do it when traffic slows down to a mere 40 miles per hour. There are worse, far worse offenders than me. At least I wait until I’m at a light. Still, I ‘fess up and I should grow up.
Take this test on your next commute--leave your phone out of reach, preferably turned off, and simply count how many folks are oblivious to their surroundings, particularly to the light right in front of them which probably turned green a full minute ago while they studied the text of the next foolish promotion from some on-line Madoff. Inevitably they gain consciousness with about two seconds to go, so they zoom through the intersection, leaving the thirty other cars behind them fuming at their rudeness. The over-under on an ordinary commute will be eight. Multiply that by your reverse commute, multiply that by your daily routine, and pretty soon you’re convinced that everyone is a selfish idiot and you start to become one yourself.
My sister-in-law came up with an ingenious solution to this tech-device plague which has descended upon American life. At a recent holiday family gathering, she put a big wicker basket beside the front door and she collected the cellphones of everyone who came in the door. It was a great party, with everyone singing and talking just like in the “olden days”. Of course the teenagers were rattled because for the first time in years they had to make eye contact and conversation with other human beings. Oh the horror, oh the inhumanity of it all...
Speaking of the old days and the old ways, does it strike you that America’s attention span is shrinking? Have we become incapable of actually sitting, listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking? Does everything have to have the speed of an NFL blitz? Does everything have to have the content shrunk to the size of a pea-brain? I’m old enough to remember a time when people were both thoughtful and productive in all dimensions of their lives and they suffered no deficit from the absence of these infernal devices. And old foagies like me could easily remember dozens and dozens of addresses and phone numbers. We were so good with numbers that it was as if we were bookies in training.
I suspect that my lament is not only age-based but that this boorish behavior is also concentrated on the coasts. Perhaps there’s something about the proximity of salt water which alters our brains, but I would bet that the communities of the mid-West are nowhere near as pre-occupied as we coastal people with these handcuffs which we carry around with us. Have you ever driven in the mid-West? Wow. What a delight. People are patient and courteous and downright nice to each other. And it’s contagious! At the second or third intersection that you might come to, it will dawn on you that yet another driver has waved you on, using all their fingers not just one, and has done so with a big warm friendly smile. Lo and behold, at the next intersection you’ll find yourself doing the exact same thing. It actually feels pretty darn good and it’s a lot more relaxing than navigating a Massachusetts rotary.
My theory on the great kindness and humanity of the mid-West is tied to their farming history. Anyone who has ever planted a crop knows the virtue of patience. Things just don’t happen overnight. It takes patience and prayer, good luck and good weather, and things can go bad pretty quickly when the crops are in the field. East and West Coast people might call it a simple state of mind that mid-Westerners bring to their lives. Others, including me, might call it plain old wisdom. Henceforth I’m with that front porch big-sky sunrise and sunset crowd. They figured things out a lot better and a lot faster than the jerk in front of me who’s texting away at the green light.
“Hey buddy, drive the car… while I’m still young.”
Related Slideshow: Most Dangerous Intersections in Massachusetts
Using the most recent available data, GoLocalWorcester has compiled a list of the Most Dangerous Intersections in New England.
See the methodology here
Since different states chose different time spans in which to accumulate their data (3-10 years), GoLocal standardized the tallies to a 3-year sum.
Related Articles
- Tom Finneran: An Easter Buffet, Sweet & Sour
- Tom Finneran: Christmas Day, Christmas Daily
- Tom Finneran: Illusion, Delusion, Confusion
- Tom Finneran: MLK’s Haunted History
- Tom Finneran: On Oprah, Barkley, and Bullying
- Tom Finneran: Remembering John Silber
- Tom Finneran: Thank You Governor Cellucci
- Tom Finneran: The Good News On Race In America
- Tom Finneran: The Pope Hits A Home Run
- Tom Finneran: To Boldly Go…
- Tom Finneran: What I am Thankful For
- Tom Finneran: And Jesus Wept
- Tom Finneran: Dummies on Smartphones
- Tom Finneran: Insulting America’s Intelligence
- Tom Finneran: Mayor Bloomberg- The Mayor of Small Ball
- Tom Finneran: On The Pope and The Prodigal Son
- Tom Finneran: Remembering LBJ
- Tom Finneran: Thanksgiving Leftovers
- Tom Finneran: The Irishman Cried
- Tom Finneran: The Real Memorial Day
- Tom Finneran: Today’s Trio: the Patriots, Marriage, and Sex
- Tom Finneran: What Romney and Obama Must Show the American People
- Tom Finneran: “Jobs That Americans Won’t Do”
- Tom Finneran: At What Age is This Appropriate?
- Tom Finneran: From Russia With Love
- Tom Finneran: Just Say “Yes”
- Tom Finneran: Money For Nothing—Bombers’ Families On Welfare
- Tom Finneran: Parent-Teacher Night
- Tom Finneran: Rooting for Congress
- Tom Finneran: The Crime of the Century
- Tom Finneran: The Minefields of Race
- Tom Finneran: The Shutdown Sins Of Both Parties
- Tom Finneran: Twenty Little Angels in Newtown
- Tom Finneran: White America, Black America
- Tom Finneran: “That’s Gross”
- Tom Finneran: Banning Bossy, Killing Common Sense
- Tom Finneran: Give Your Mom and Dad a $61,000 Raise
- Tom Finneran: Just Say No (To A Special US Prosecutor)
- Tom Finneran: Mr. President, I Dissent
- Tom Finneran: Playing Dangerous Defense
- Tom Finneran: Running on Envy
- Tom Finneran: The Cultural Decline Since Downton Abbey
- Tom Finneran: The New Year Beckons
- Tom Finneran: The Sound of Silence
- Tom Finneran: US Congress–What’s Wrong With These Guys?
- Tom Finneran: Why I’m Excited for Monday’s Debate
- Tom Finneran: A Good Man Earns High Office
- Tom Finneran: Black on White
- Tom Finneran: Hall of Famer Tom Menino
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part One
- Tom Finneran: Obama Throws a Touchdown Strike
- Tom Finneran: Powerball Madness
- Tom Finneran: Screw Mother Goose… And Bambi Too!
- Tom Finneran: The Death of Common Sense in American Education
- Tom Finneran: The Nightmare of the Middle East
- Tom Finneran: The Unknowns and What Ifs of Election Season
- Tom Finneran: USA Blowing the Bronze
- Tom Finneran: Why Walmart?
- Tom Finneran: After Boston—An Immigration Proposal
- Tom Finneran: Blocking and Tackling the Worcester Way
- Tom Finneran: Happy Birthday, America
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part Three
- Tom Finneran: Obama’s Dominoes
- Tom Finneran: President Obama’s New Year
- Tom Finneran: Six Things A Community Has To Have
- Tom Finneran: The Decline of America Continues
- Tom Finneran: The Oscars
- Tom Finneran: The Whiny Women of Wellesley
- Tom Finneran: We’ll Always Have Paris… And Silly Women
- Tom Finneran: America Has Poor Healthcare? Think Again
- Tom Finneran: Boston’s Brothers, Worcester’s Widows
- Tom Finneran: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and St. Ann’s Parish
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part Two
- Tom Finneran: Of God, And Gods, In The OR
- Tom Finneran: Putin By A TKO
- Tom Finneran: Sometimes You Just Have To Talk About Sports
- Tom Finneran: The Fuse Is Lit
- Tom Finneran: The Plight of the American “Six-Figure” Family
- Tom Finneran: There’s Much To Like About Jim McGovern
- Tom Finneran: What $18 Billion in Stimulus Money Could Do For MA
- Tom Finneran: America’s New Grand Canyon
- Tom Finneran: Broke! Dumb! Doomed?
- Tom Finneran: How Much Is That College In The Window?
- Tom Finneran: Keeping the Holiday Spirit Alive Year-Round
- Tom Finneran: On Hillary Clinton and the Marines
- Tom Finneran: Race—The Great American Debate
- Tom Finneran: Stringing a Necklace of Wandering Political Thoughts
- Tom Finneran: The Gipper and Barack, Like Father, Like Son
- Tom Finneran: The Politicians that Made Massachusetts Education Elite
- Tom Finneran: Thoughts on the Blizzard
- Tom Finneran: What Are You Afraid Of?
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It