Without A Care
It was a very cold December morning in Mountain View, California. It was clear out yet the air stung the skin. As Adam Roberts awoke from a deep sleep, he felt a sensation of invincibility, feeling like he could take on the world. He was feeling happier than ever. Nothing would stand in his way… or so he thought.
He got out of bed, readied himself, and then hopped into his car. He pulled out of his driveway and started down the street. It was about 7:15 in the morning, and the sun cast the familiar orange glow from the east. As he came upon a stoplight, he began to feel very annoyed. The cars in the intersection whizzed past his eyes. The many people going on with their pointless and uneventful lives were keeping him from getting where he needed to go. But he was invincible. These people matter not. Yet he couldn’t help but feel a little aggravated from the length of this light. He was in a hurry. Yet Adam didn’t seem to realize that he didn’t necessarily have to be anywhere anytime soon. But something in his head told him that he did. He needed to get through this light. However, his invincibility was satisfied when the light finally turned green. He gunned the accelerator.
He was close to the freeway on-ramp when he came upon a very slow driver in a Mercedes. This enticed Adam yet again. How dare this person get in his way? He was in a terrible rush, but it had not yet occurred to him that there was no need. He started to tailgate and flash his lights, with hopes the driver in front of him would speed up. Even though the driver looked in his mirror and saw that he was being tailgated, the driver didn’t do so. Adam was finally beginning to crack. This sensation of invincibility he had experienced earlier had turned against him. When he got onto the freeway, this feeling was completely gone. Strange, how a couple of insignificant events could turn somebody around so much. To express his anger, he slammed the gas pedal to the floor. His car roared louder than sounded reasonable; he was driving a 1994 Civic, and it’s not the sort of car you should so something like that to. But this didn’t matter to him.
He could feel the car take him faster and faster. He glanced at the speedometer and it read 55 mph. The gray barrier in the middle of the freeway was barely the blur that it should be. That’s not nearly fast enough. 60, 65, 70, 75, he was still unsatisfied. 80, 85, 90, now he was content. This was exciting enough. He could feel the speed in his face, the steering wheel was vibrating, and the high-pitched roar of the engine was overwhelmed by the wind rushing by. 90 mph was fast enough to express his rage.
This was a bad idea, as one could imagine. There are only a few things that could have brought Adam down from this high. One of them was parked on the side of the road with a speed radar. Adam slowed down immediately, and miraculously, the cop didn’t show any notice to Adam’s presence. But Adam did not like cops at all. He decided that arriving to his destination a little later was better than having to pay a fine. He maintained his current slow speed. He looked in his rear view mirror. Some teenager in a blue Corolla was behind him. And what else was he doing but tailgating and flashing his lights…