You Park in a Driveway, Drive in a Parkway, and Cruise over a Curb

In sitting outside Starbucks every morning, I see my share of poor driving. The SUV that backed into a light post; cars that pull too far in and scrape the parking block; everyone backing out at the same time; near accidents; one minor accident; and everyday, far too many cars going the wrong way down a one-way aisle.

Part of it could be chalked up to nothing: everyone makes mistakes. The other part could be the morning commute: everyone in a rush.

Today, two cars drove over two different curbs. One happened right in front of me (don’t worry, Louie and I pulled in our paws). As the BMW’s right front wheel breached the curb and pulled onto the sidewalk, the woman behind the steering wheel tightened her mouth into something, an expression I couldn’t interpret. On this new footing, the car rocked back and forth a few times. The woman turned her steering wheel, which turned her tire wheel. The car bumped back down to the street, and as it rocked back and forth a few more times, the woman let out a full-fledged grin of elation.

Perhaps she was hurrying to a morning meeting. It’s possible she didn’t want to be late for a doctor’s appointment. I prefer to think of her as someone getting a minor thrill from driving a little off kilter.