Saturday, September 5, 2009

I'm A Stereotype




That's what I was thinking the other day as I drove my Prius to the recycling center, and went shopping with my eco-friendly grocery bags. Then, I had a good laugh at myself for feeling so ecologically holier-than-thou...

Until last Thursday night when I was driving home from Boston. Tired from a day of meetings and hours of driving, I decided to stop at a Dunkin Donuts on the way home. But having limited empty cup holders, I had to ditch the warm bottle of water sitting in my car all day, but couldn't toss it into the back because it had no cap. So, as I was idling a stoplight at a busy intersection, I lowered the window and poured out the water. In my tired state, I hit the remote window button too soon and the window started closing on my fingers, still clutching the empty water bottle. As I frantically tried to pull the bottle back inside the car, I realized I had to choose between saving my fingers and letting go. The bottle bounced in the road as cars rushed by, followed by a hushed silence and then a roar as the car behind me started honking. When the light changed, the driver zoomed past, giving me the finger. "Hey, wait," I wanted to say. "You don't understand. I don't litter. Really. See, I drive a Prius."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have seen you liter several times myself!

Anonymous said...

Only kidding! Love, Susan LOL!

Maureen said...

I can't believe you would choose to ravage the world with more litter rather than losing two out of your 10 - count'em 10 - fingers. Real women don't litter!
(BTW, Which fingers would they have been?)
Maureen

P. A. Moed said...

Hi Susan. See you at the recycling center!

And Maureen, thanks for turning me into the litter police! Who needs that index finger, anyway??

Toni C. said...

I LOVE this, Patti! I can identify with it completely, even if I don't have a Prius. (I would like to...)
How's your serenity level today?
Love, Toni

P. A. Moed said...

Hi Toni. Great to hear from you. The serenity level is rising, now that I know I'm teaching 1 class...definitely! How are yours?

Dan Spira said...

Patti -- What a great story, told so well... and a perfect example of the Diderot Effect.

Love the blog and the photos... keep up the great work!

Dan