Thursday May 20, 2004
More paper copying, punching, binding, mailing, serving (I liked this part best!) and now just one more to go and I can fill in 8 more forms and my battle with the slumlords will be started.
I managed to squeeze a visit with my friend Larissa and a medical appointment into the day as well. Whew!
A near-miss on the road this morning had me admonishing myself for not paying attention. After my complaints about all the other drivers here in Kingston, not to forget my sideline, I felt obligated to avoid rear-ending the van ahead of me. The fact that I hadn't noticed the brake lights when traffic stopped for a red light really got me worried. Actually, it was the panic and adrenaline that accompanied registering the lack of space between us.
The rest of our journey together I paid very close attention to the rear end of the van, figuring my brain was acting under-fueled again so I'd better focus more deliberately. And then I noticed that I couldn't have noticed the brakes and it wasn't my lax driving that was to blame at all: the van's brake lights hadn't changed once even though we were in stop and go traffic and stopped and went many times.
I actually spent a bit of time watching how the van was being driven because the only explanation for the fact that it was stopping appropriately distant from the car ahead of it was that the driver was using a manual transmission and purposely avoiding hitting the brakes. It can be done, but this was a late model van and there was a baby seat visible and I figured it was highly unlikely.
While we were stopped at a light, I got out and asked the very pregnant driver if she was in fact using her brakes when she stopped. Then I explained that I'd almost hit her because her brake lights weren't working at all. She thanked me for letting her know and we went on our way. I just hope she got them looked at right away...what with all the excellent drivers around here, you know?
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