This one's for Tom (Gerry)

When I arrived back in Milwaukee - at my car in the airport's remort parking lot - I found a giant pick-up truck had been parked along side of it. This truck clearly had been parked in the time that I was in Boston, because I never would have tried to park so close to another vehicle. I would not have been able to get out of the car with only a foot of space between my driver's side door and the passenger side of the pick-up. For a brief second I thought about entering my car through my passenger side. But then I thought to myself, "It's late. I'm tired. And why should I inconvenience myself because this arrogant jerk, who spent too much money on a mode of transportation and who has no appreciation of the energy crisis we are going through, can't take the time to park in a decent spot? Specifically one with no other cars around?"

So, I went and opened my driver's side door. As far as the truck - and then a little more. And then I closed it. And then I put my luggage in the trunk. And then I opened my door again. And then I made sure the door was open as far as I could get it, as I squeezed into my seat. (I am embarrassed to say that I then hit the truck with my door again.) As I sat in my car, looking for my parking ticket, I began to feel remorse for what I had done. But then I noticed how shiny the pick-up was. It clearly wasn't used for hauling anything - just carting the owner and his small feet around the city. I also noticed that the scratch I put in the paint was only as high as the truck's wheels. If the pick-up had been older and used for an actual truck purpose, I would have gone out of my way to protect its paint. If the truck were smaller - even an F-150, I would have avoided damaging it. But the lumbering hulk just made me so angry with all that it stood for. Perhaps if the driver wants to ride in something with a lot of power, he should take the bus. He'll save money. He could put that money towards his kids' college fund.


On a similar vein, an ER doctor on NPR the other morning talked about his experience over the years. He mentioned how smog and asthma have increased since he began practicing medicine. He talked about how people came to the ER with children and the elderly suffering from asthma and asking the doctors for help. He said that the look in their eyes conveyed a plea for help that would mean doing anything to help their loved ones breathe again. The doctor then pointed out that most of these families drove to the ER in their giant trucks and SUVs.