Vehophobia

That is a real word, meaning fear of driving, not made up like covfefe.

Serial photo taker am I, always taking snapshots of people, places, things I see happening. Some of those snapshots make it to Facebook or the blog, some I hold onto for a while, lose interest in keeping and delete.

When returning from Starbucks on the 21^st -- the day I needed extra ump, I found myself at a standstill, blocked from returning just one stoplight from the complex because of a traffic accident. I pulled out my phone and managed to snap two quick photos before being directed by traffic control to detour.

Those photos were still in my phone when, on Friday, with a 50% off Joann’s coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I’d planned to head out to use on a block for another bib/medal board and a frame for the latest needlework project, as the project is close to complete. However, when the neighbor downstairs across the quad -- the one I refer to in the blog as Nosey, because she runs to her patio to eavesdrop on conversations and is always watching, asked if I had dollar bills for a five so she could take a cab to the market, the plan changed.

When I inquired why she was taking a cab to the market, less than a quarter mile away, she said she’d been having trouble with her legs and wasn’t sure she could make it.

No way was I going to let her take a cab for such a short distance, so off we went to the market where we ran into quite a few residents, including the woman upstairs, directly across from me -- the one that complains so much that her pseudonym in the blog is Cranky.

Nosey asked Cranky, “How are you doing … Should you be out?”, then Nosey turned to me and said, “She was in a traffic accident”.

“OMG”, says I. “Are you alright … when … where?”

“Just down the street … No, I’m not alright … my little red car was totaled”.

All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in my head … “I SAW THAT! … I was coming back from Starbucks … I had no idea it was you.”

Cranky is all stiff and sore but, from the looks of the photos, lucky to be alive.

I was stunned when Cranky, recently relocated here from Nevada asked me, “Aren’t drivers in California required to be insured?” because turns out the other driver was uninsured and is blaming her for the accident.

I have a feeling this would have been hit-and-run but for the fact the other driver’s car wasn’t flee-the-scene-able.

Learning someone I knew was involved in that accident, made me more than a little vehophobic driving to Joann’s in Redlands this morning. I was extra cautious, extra vigilant on the drive up and arrived seeing nothing frightening. On the way back however, I saw a little white car initiating a lane change, no blinkers and a big old tour bus right next to it in the lane it was attempting to move into.

I remember saying out loud, “You can’t see that big old bus right next to you?”

The bus swerved away and seemed to wobble.

Not wanting to get caught up in what I expected to be the bus losing control, hitting cars in the lane on the other side of it before toppling over, I slowed way down but the driver of the white car realized what it was doing, swerved back to its original lane, the bus managed to stabilize and all was well.

When I got off the freeway, I saw a red car wait for cross traffic to clear the intersection, then make a left turn on a red light.

It wasn’t like he was already in the intersection when the light changed.

No.

He was waiting at the stoplight, as were we all, where I could legally turn right on the red light when cross traffic cleared, but before I made my turn, I saw him smooth turn left.

Is it the heat or are people just nuts?