200 days to go

     Everyone has experienced impatient people. The people who run stop signs because they are yelling at their kids or talking on their cell phones make me crazy.  In our town, there are a number of four way stops.  I can count on one hand the number of cars that have come to a complete stop at any given intersection! And the people who run the stop signs or do a slow down but no stop, are not just older people. College kids are just so busy these days, that stopping is not a priority for them. We have our fair share of people cutting through town to avoid the major stop light bottle necks and in doing so, making our little town, their short cut!
    And what do these people gain by not stopping?  If a cop is nearby, the law breaker might get a ticket. If not,  the stop sign runner has shaved off a few extra seconds off their commute. In addition to the non stopping cars, there are the drivers who set their own speed limit so they can be somewhere a little faster.
    I would be amiss if I left out the drivers of scooters. I have observed the drivers, typically college students driving their scooters in what I would call a reckless manner, running stop signs, riding on the sidewalks to avoid going through an intersection, driving without eye protection. Teenagers become college students and some never outgrow the idea that they know better how to do something.   They know all and can do anything. And they think they will live forever.  (Hint, no-one lives forever unless you are the IRS.)   Unfortunately, teenagers and college students can get hurt or worse if they continue to behave in an impatient manner.  It takes just one time for a scooter driver not to see the other car or truck that is running  the same stop sign.
     These same students can get hurt just as easily by texting while walking across the street between two corners.  They used to call this jay walking.  Now it is called, cutting corners! Why walk to the crosswalk when you can shave a few minutes off, by just crossing where ever you want? These students might say that their time is valuable and why should they wait.  I would like to tell them that waiting to cross at a crosswalk or a light just might save their lives. I would love to add that being impatient might just get them dead.
      But what do I know? I'm just a guy who is not impatient to get older.   And I have no reason to be impatient about dying.