Nick's Driving Quips

It's been two weeks since our return from Rome and the driving experience there still infuriates me. My Dad had a couple of sayings about drivers. First, he had someone the "gawker". This is a driver looking in all directions with no regard to the cars behind. They were limited by Dad to a few expletives and also known as “Rubber Necker’s”. You qualified by driving slowly while in the fast lane or holding things up in any manner. Another way to qualify was to turn your head more than 10% in any direction. Lots of Rubber Necker’s in the City by the Bay. His other favorite saying which he used while sitting and waiting for a light to turn green…tapping his fingers nervously on the wheel. Once the light turned from red to green if the car in front made no attempt to move…Dad would say “Son a of a *7&% , it's not going to get any Greener"!

We're the white car trying to take a left!!!

Anyway, back to Rome. There, I qualified as both the Rubber Necker extraordinaire and of course, as the "It's not going to get any greener" tourist. I forgot to say Dad did have his gentlemanly ways to get back at these obstacle setters…get in front of them and slow down to a crawl. Yes it riled them every time yet Dad wouldn't always have the patience to get his revenge …but he sure thought about it each and every time.
Back to Rome, all I remember is people honking if you didn't rapidly accelerate from your dead stop position. Also that the motorcycles were on all sides and you couldn't just suddenly open a door or might/ would wipe out two or more cyclists with one door opening. Lastly, I wish I’d had a box of spare hand grenades in the front seat.

PS. I consider myself a good, safe, aggressive driver and should have been a cabbie in San Francisco.