• • •
Here’s what made me laugh way too much the other day.
I was on a two-lane curvy township road, stopped in construction traffic in a single file lane with about 20 other vehicles, waiting, when…
This young dude in a huge new Ford F-150 pickup truck in front of me started revving his badass engine, bouncing his truck on its bloated large tires, impatient, as he waited for the opportunity to be allowed to drive on the one lane that the construction crew had us using.
But apparently Mr. Pickup Truck zoned out during the minutes he was forced to sit still so that when the flagger gave the go ahead to drive forward, Mr. Pickup Truck drove his vehicle on the wrong side of the road: the side of the road that the flagger was not pointing to.
• • •
Continuing on with this story I will attempt to tell it in a non-mocking mature way.
Meanwhile, while we [the other drivers and I] watched, the flagger dropped the STOP/SLOW sign he was holding and started yelling “NO!”as he ran down the middle of the road around the curve after Mr. Pickup Truck.
Mr. Pickup Truck, however, was oblivious to what he’d done wrong and vroom-vroom-vroomed around the curve in the road where we could see that he had to stop, abruptly, behind a backhoe– that was now blocked by Mr. Pickup Truck’s F-150.
The man on the backhoe did not appear to be happy about this development, and seemed to have a few words to say to Mr. Pickup Truck. I was too far away to hear the actual conversation, but from body language I’m going to surmise that the backhoe operator used words not suitable for a PG-13 blog such as this one.
• • •
Not wanting to seem unkind here, but this was darned funny on both a slapstick level and on an existential level.
First of all, I got to see this young guy do something really dumb in which no one was hurt. Plus, it was humorous for me to drive, in the proper lane, by Mr. Pickup Truck who looked astonished that he was trapped on the wrong side of the road, unable to move in any direction until the flagger took pity on him.
But this didn’t happen immediately because the flagger was a person who believed that stupid actions had consequences. Thus he allowed the rest of us alert drivers to go on our way before [presumably] letting Mr. Pickup Truck drive in reverse around the curve back to where Mr. Pickup Truck needed to be so that he could drive in the lane that was open.
At the same time, on a more meta level, I got giggling because Ford’s ad campaign is: “Go Further.” Little did they know that their slogan needed to be tweaked; that is, apparently Ford needs to clarify to their truck buyers that the drivers should go further in the correct lane. 🙄
An incident like that might actually make waiting in those road construction lines something to look forward to!
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Deb, it was hilarious. This young dude, so sure of himself in a way that only young men can be, made my day. And glancing in my rearview mirror I saw other drivers behind me laughing, too.
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Sounds like karma to me. 😁
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Carrie, it was. I try not to take delight in other people’s mistakes, but this one made me smile. Honestly… pay attention, dude.
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I did LOL at this 😀
There is something so sweet about laughing at bad drivers getting their just desserts. Just the sheer joy of witnessing it, hmm?
Nice share!
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joey, because not one person was hurt in this story I felt it was ok to laugh. Just desserts, indeed. So funny.
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Ha ha…Go Further. Indeed.
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vanbytheriver, if Ford’s slogan wasn’t what it was, I doubt that I’d bother sharing this story. But… Go Further? Too perfect.
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Selfish impatience has a price. Hopefully Mr. Pick-up truck learned that from this incident.
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Norm, I hope he learned that, too. He didn’t cause an accident [this time], but came close to smashing into the backhoe. I found myself yelling “pay attention, dude” at him as he went the wrong way. 😧
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Finally! Some entertainment in those horrid, long lines of construction traffic! Those of us that have to sit there and wait interminably are a sorely underserved population.
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Amen, sister. This was funny to watch, and made me smile even after I got through this construction delay and was stopped at the next one down the road. They never end around here.
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I first thought this story was going to go in the direction I have seen many times at construction sites, where those who consider themselves among the entitled will use their badass sports cars or big honkin’ pickups/SUV’s to find a way to wiggle out of line and past those of us who obey the rules and wait. Motorcyclists are also notorious for this. I’m glad someone got a little karma served up to them for being a unicorn’s behind…
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evil, I’ve seen that happen too, usually on the interstate around here. It’s infuriating– and dangerous. This stupid move didn’t cause anyone in line any trouble, except Mr. Pickup Truck. However the 40-something flagger looked like he was going to spit nails at the young dude.
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Ha! I appreciate the flagger made him wait. That’s awesome.
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Lacey, I thought that was great, too. I like people who handle difficult people in such a way as to make the difficult person suffer! Does my heart good.
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We don’t often get to see karma served. It’s delightful.
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Kate, this really was karma on parade. Once I could see that the only thing hurt was this dude’s ego, I couldn’t stop laughing. I mean really…
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Justice! Much like when someone goes speeding by me at a very high rate of speed and then I see them pulled over shortly thereafter.
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Sarah, that’s exactly what this was like. I couldn’t stop laughing, which probably wasn’t nice, but honestly it’s not that difficult to drive where the flagger points. You know?
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Seriously, not difficult.
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Marvelous story!
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Anne, thanks. I’m still chuckling a little bit about this confused dude’s mistake.
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Gotta love Karma (an oh so appropriate a term). You don’t often get to see stupidity rewarded (like a speeder who has been traveling in and out of lanes not noticing a highway patrol car and end up getting a ticket), but it’s so satisfying when you do. Not that I’d EVER wish bad outcomes on anyone… 🙂
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Janis, that’s exactly how I looked at this situation. As we waited I didn’t mind that Mr. Pickup Truck was strutting his stuff, seemed silly but whatever. However, when he went the wrong way I started giggling at the absurdity of it… him… the big truck. Karma can be fun.
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Not all, but many of those monster truck drivers are compensating for a lack of *something* and in this case, it might be intelligence or common sense. We have a number of them around here, and by their bumper stickers and driving habits, I know we could never become friends.
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Margaret, you made me laugh out loud on that one. Good observations. I can’t say why this guy went the wrong way, but I can say he spent a lot of money on the vehicle he was in. It was a doozy of a thing– and noisy.
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I thought you were going to say that he rolled right over everyone in front of him. I hate those trucks with the oversized tires. What the heck are they thinking of. If I have to get on a ladder to get into my vehicle I’m in trouble. Glad that no one was injured. Hopefully the dude learned a lesson.
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Janet, I wish I knew why people put those oversized tires on trucks. They make the pickup truck look dumber than dumb. It’s difficult to know whether this dude learned a lesson or not. At least I got a laugh and a story out of it!
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I like this!!
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Thanks. Sometimes the stories just unfold in front of me.
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I love life when it happens like that!
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Me too. And I’m trying to not feel like I shouldn’t laugh at this dude. But karma, too cool.
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Oh….you have to laugh…..
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I confess to finding smirky humor in the “young upstart” get his comeuppance.
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Carol, you are a kindred spirit. His comeuppance was perfect. 😉
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You’ve gotta love karma!
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Donna, I know! Nothing like karmic entertainment to make being stuck in traffic fun.
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Thanks for a fun share, Ally. Some people . . .
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nancy, some people really do make me wonder… and laugh, too.
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hehehehehe!! It seems that we are delayed by construction at every turn during the “non-winter” season and a story like this one feels good 🤣
I do feel sorry sometimes for the flag people … they are out there in all kinds of weather in an unglamorous job, dealing with jerks and idiots. When karma works, it’s a beautiful thing 😎
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Joanne, we have the same “non-winter” months situation here. Road repair is all over everywhere I need to be April through November. I agree about the flaggers. They do a great job at a job that has to be boring– and a little dangerous when drivers go the wrong way. Which this dude did, and *oh my* it was funny!
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I hope that after he got over his initial embarrassment, he had the sense of humour to laugh at himself when he told his version of the story to his friends 😃
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I hope so too. I only got a glance at his face as I drove by, but his expression was one of complete surprise. He didn’t look angry, just stunned.
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Even better 😃
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I’m glad flag guy was smart and let everyone else go first. Otherwise there might have been some disgruntled drivers in your line.
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J, I hadn’t thought of that scenario, but you’re right. I tell you with the narrow roads and the constant construction delays it’s a miracle I get anywhere. Although usually I don’t get such good entertainment…
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Seems Ford left an all too important line out of their slogan. Funny story, thank you. Glad no one got hurt.
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Silvia, honestly, it was a ridiculous thing to watch happen, and then that slogan just popped into my head. Sometimes blog posts just write themselves.
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Oh, this is just too awesome. I cannot stand those idiots who drive souped-up anything. They always rev their engines and tear around like they own the road. This is his comeuppance. Hopefully, his head isn’t as thick as his tires and he “gets it.”
Great story!
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Kate, I love your summation about this dude’s head. So true, but I dunno…
I wish I could have taken a pic of his face as I drove by him, he was truly flummoxed by what had happened. It was great.
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