Did that guy just flash me?

Sometimes I feel a great camaraderie with the human race. Often times this camaraderie is sorely tested when I am braving my daily commute. I spend A LOT of time in the car. My commute used to be approximately 30 minutes long until “the man” changed a big stretch of the drive from 65 MPH to a whopping 45 MPH and added an extra 15 minutes to the expedition. Now this is an each way ordeal so I spend a lot of time alone with my fellow commuters/human beings. Mostly they irritate me to no end and I sometimes try to return the favor. Admittedly I am a “granny” driver (this is in no way a derogatory term and I would proudly proclaim it in bumper sticker form if I actually believed in posting my every opinion and thought to the back of my car). I proudly abide the speed limit…within reason (okay, I usually keep it a couple of miles above…but only because I figure that no two speedometers and/or radar detectors can be calibrated to the exact correct measure…I know that I’m no scientist, but I do know the word calibrated…so that has to account for something). This apparently is going to kill most of the drivers with whom I am destined to share the road. I am often the target of a tailgate conspiracy (and yes, I am that jerk who will sometimes tap my brakes…and who often sees “the bird” fly past my window). I don’t love going the speed of molasses! I don’t love watching the bicyclist pass me in far shoulder! I don’t love being passed by snails or turtles or any other shelled animal! And yes, I usually am late too. But, I cannot fathom any person being able to frivolously flush away money on a speeding ticket. I know I sure can’t. So, while I have not yet honed my psychic spidey sense to the point of foreseeing any lurking law enforcement I will continue to be the 28 year old granny driver.
However, once in awhile my faith in humanity is restored! Along my commute there is a particular spot where every branch of law loves to lay in wait in what most people affectionately refer to as a “speed trap.” It is right at the bottom of a really big hill with a speed limit of 40 MPH. This is almost an impossibility, even for a granny driver like myself. Unless I want to spend thousands of dollars in brake replacements periodically, I too feel it my duty to go with the flow of traffic…aka the speed of light. So, I cannot tell you how grateful I am when fellow motorist will flash their lights to warn oncoming traffic of the trap ahead. For a few seconds I feel that we are joined together as a great secret army… comrades in arms (not in the scary communist way, but the good brotherhood sort of way)…against “the man.” So to all you flashers out there, I tip my figurative hat to you and tell you to keep up the flashing, I will do the same.