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Seeing red over summertime blues

6 min read

…There’s an old song that goes, “There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.” And that could not be more fitting for me right now because even though there are so many things I love about the summer, there have been quite a few recent experiences that have happened that have gotten me a bit blue.

Actually, to be more precise, there are some things that have caused me so much aggravation that I skipped right past the blues and they have me seething red with anger. And these annoyances have been caused by three simple factors: ongoing home improvement projects, the never-ending construction and traffic and the endless parade of amazingly bad drivers that have been infesting our roadways.

To be honest, I think it’s the ongoing home improvement projects that are causing me to be so cranky about everything else. Before, during and after the July 4 holiday, I was looking forward to some rest and relaxation … or as much R&R as someone could get while chasing around a very active 4 ½-year-old child.

Alas, it was not meant to be, as my R&R time consisted of seemingly endless hours of back-breaking manual labor, including cleaning out our little one’s pool; mowing and weed-whacking; getting our entire house cleaned for my wife’s annual “Summer Cleaning” extravaganza, with endless hours of dusting, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming; and getting our mammoth laundry piles in order. And it didn’t help that all of the outdoor hard labor was done under the unforgiving July sun, during the hottest time of the day.

(Actually, I spent most of the time complaining and whining while my wife and her parents did most of the work. And truth be told, I am proud that the hard work is going to pay off, because our house is going to look a whole lot better when it’s all finished.)

But even if the ongoing home improvement projects did not affect me, I still would be aggravated at the unbelievable number of bad drivers that I have had to endure ever since summer began.

To put it mildly, I have seen just about every type of bad driver known to mankind over the past couple of weeks, on multiple occasions. They include the multi-tasking drivers, those daredevils who feel they are able to talk or text on the phone, eat a meal, apply their makeup, check their work, fiddle with their iPod AND drive at the same time.

Then there are the drivers whose turn signal has been on since the start of WWII, as well as their direct opposites, those who decide to use their signal AFTER they’ve finished the turn. (And don’t get me started on the folks who don’t even bother to use their signals at all.)

And how ’bout the geniuses who either drive either much too slow or much too fast? I don’t know what makes my blood boil more, the maniacs who recklessly endanger lives by going 90 in a 25, or the slowpokes in front of me who are going 10 in a 35 on a one-lane windy road.

And what about the brake-testers? You know who I mean, the folks who are constantly worried about the quality of their brakes and feel that they have to test them every 30 seconds, especially when they’re going uphill or when there’s a police car within a 50-mile radius.

Oh, there are many more drivers that make me crazy. Like those who love to cut in line. There’s nothing better than being stuck in one-lane traffic for a really looooong time (like the debacle on Greene Street in Waynesburg) and then some jerk comes barreling down the other lane and cuts in front of me just before the lanes merge. I swear, when I see drivers like this I wish license plates contained the driver’s cell phone numbers so I could call them and tell them what I honestly think of them.

And how about those wonderful folks who drive their vehicles without ever learning the definition of the word “muffler”? Yes, it is indeed quite a treat to be stuck behind a vehicle that has no muffler and lets off insufferable noises so loud that it makes me want to violently throw my hearing aids in the garbage.

And then there are the young drivers in their souped-up cars who drive aimlessly all night and blare the most asinine rap and hip-hop music so loud that people attending a sold-out Pirates game 60 miles away have to cover their ears to drown out the awful noise.

And there are my favorite drivers, the maniacs behind the wheel of oversized trucks. Nothing beats a drive on a narrow country road, especially when a monstrous truck (usually an 18-wheelin’ behemoth hauling water or waste) comes barreling at you at an ungodly speed, takes over the whole road and nearly causes you to run off the road and into a tree or ditch.

I could go on, but I’m running out of space — and I can already feel my blood starting to boil from my summertime blues.

If you have experienced any one or more of these drivers, then I feel your pain. And if you happen to be one of these types of drivers, then please let me know when you are planning on hitting the road again, so I can stay home…

…Anyway, I’m glad I’ve gotten that complaining stuff out of my system because I am looking forward to the many fun activities and events that are on the horizon in Greene County.

We are gearing up for the 152nd annual Jacktown Fair next week, and then we will get ready for Rain Day as well as the annual Greene County Fair and the Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Show. And while we are busy with those events, we will be working nonstop to put together our annual Greene County Fair Guide.

So buckle up, because this busy summer is about to get even busier for the Messenger…

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