I'm A Stereotype

Prius with Obama Sticker
Originally uploaded by AlexJohnson

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."