RANT

Have you ever sent an e-mail and then been filled with regrets? 

I am experiencing that same feeling with this blog. 

There is no doubt in my mind that it is accurate, however I wrote it when I was mad, which makes it…. edgy.

Since you are reading this, I decided to throw caution to the wind and see where it goes.  Much like flinging spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.  So, here it goes.....  

3 times ~ in 3 days ~ I have been forced off the road by reckless drivers.  6 minutes ago on Inchelium, a small blue sedan driving south, pulled out to pass me (yea, I was the guy on the motorcycle).  Normally this wouldn’t be enough to rattle me, but the car in front of me had his blinker on to make a left turn.  So the blue sedan passes me, notices the blinker and cuts in front of me so close, I almost ran into the back of her.  I locked up my brakes and caught my low gears trying to stay on the road and avoid an accident.

The other day I was on my motorcycle and a Canadian tried to pass me at the end of the Drive Inn 4 lanes.  There simply wasn’t enough of a passing lane left for her to pass, so I pulled over into the left lane to stop her from passing me.  She sped up and tried to pass me on the right, forcing me into oncoming traffic. Maybe in Canada that is considered "defensive driving". 

And have you ever noticed when you are driving from Kettle Falls to Colville, that the aggressive drivers that must pass you on the 4 lanes, are stuck right in front of you at the stop light in front of Super 1?  I often wonder what they think they have accomplished by beating me to the stop light by 2.3 seconds. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 32,310 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2011.  The NHTSA believes that this is wonderful since 43,510 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2005.  Does this number seem a little insane to anyone besides me?  This should not be "acceptable" or "good news". 

And since I am already in the deep end of the pool, I might as well go for broke.  I have been paying attention during my "close calls" and there is one thing common in almost all of them: the presence of children in the back seats.  People driving recklessly with their kids in the car.  If adults choose to participate in dangerous activities, well, they are adults.  But kids have their decisions made for them by the adults God put in their lives.  I am pretty sure the good Lord will hold them accountable for how well they handled this responsibility.  Jesus had strong words to say about people who hurt kids. 

“It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he’s driving like a madman.”
 2 Kings 9:20 NLT

The “low hanging fruit” from this blog has 2 parts: 

(a)             Your pastor is begging you to slow down and drive safely ~ I want to get to where I am going and I want you to safely get to where you are going…. 
(b)            Live every day as though it were your last, and someday, you will be right….