Fuck Goats?

*cries*

i have never been first before. this is some sort of sign, i swear it. i was having a shitty morning at work, and now this! it is a sign that i should quit my job to be a full-time blogger and blog-stalker. THE GODS HAVE SPOKEN.

Corky Was Here?

Hi Kristy! Happy belated b-day!

yes, someone had a statement there. They really had to get that one off the old chest. Because there isn't enough blasphemy directed at goats these days.

hahahaha. maybe the heat drove them to the goats....

You know, one would think that since I live in LA and this picture was taken in the parking structure where I work, downtown, where stuff is like a terrorist target and all, that the security guards would be more weirded out when I photograph the cars.

One would be wrong.

Yes, back east it is hot, muggy, yes and smoggy in the mountains of Western North Carolina. But not so much cat-box-smelling. I ALWAYS courtesy wave. And I hope it is not Corky who is advocating goat abuse.

Kristy: let's be stalkers. It's got to be a growth industry.

madeleine: the whole city smells really bad today ... I am glad you know of the courtesy wave! I always wave, too, unless I am using my one finger to wave, but that is only when someone is mean.

Hi Stefanie & samantha. Corky was here.

Now I'm wondering whether the goat reference on the car is meant to communicate disdain or affection for goats...

There is no other blog that makes me think of such questions. Thank you so much.

And if you want dry heat, come to the desert. We have lots.

perhaps the cancercrips should form a blog-stalking union?

I'm with you on the courtesy wave over here in NC. I ride a road bike and wave (and smile) to motorists that stop, slow down, wave past, wave to, etc. Just doing anything correctly or even kindly deserves positive reinforcement! As a motorist, I do the same.

The always courtesy wave and I nearly always let nice girls like you merge. We're all gonna get there eventually and if you're late, you're late. Leave earlier next time.

I love L.A.!!!! Smog, cat-air, rude drivers and all of it! I'm a native...it's my town. It's all of the tourists and NEWER transplants that don't know about the courtesy wave! I ALWAYS implement the courtesy wave, even if it's just to say, "Hi, love what you're doing with the dust-writing on your little sedan!"

Goats? Are there any goats in L.A.?

Maybe you should get back on the bus? It might lower the stress level a bit. I'd like you to know that I always courtesy wave when people don't try to hit me while I ride my bike.

Also the comment about goats is odd, but just under that the car is expressing it's hatred for Kelly Ripa.

I rarely use my finger to wave for fear of the wavee being armed . . . this is Texas. But I fully employ the use of the courtesy wave along with, "Oh my God, thank ya'll so much. Awwww, how nice."

It was 112 in my backyard yesterday. Oy.

Perhaps the Courtesy Wave (tm) is a Southern Thing as The Mister is a big advocate, implementer, and evangelist for the Courtesy Wave.

Your "Pay it Forward" theory dovetails nicely into his conviction that the 'ol CW is all that separates us from the beasts.

We've found that we get CW'd by the blue-collar types more than the white or no collar (ungrateful hipster youth) types.

My own CW has atrophied to Courtesy Fingers: raising the four fingers of my dominant steering wheel hand up in a miniscule flutter of gratitude. This should not be confused with the singular Courtesy Finger, which is oxymoronically named.

Oh, yeah:
Hot is hot, whether it's dry or moist. You still sweat.

Did everyone miss the oddly placed "I" above the "Fuck Goats"? What's that about Jerry Stahl on the other side of the window? And, how long has that car been sitting in the garage? Who lets their car get that dirty? I'm disturbed by this.

I'm not a rush-rush driver, I pretty much feellike hey, I'm in the car, it takes however long it takes to get there. I let folks merge and so on. But I have noticed that with the heat, people just have lost their shiite when it comes to road rage, I literally saw a guy chased off the 101 onto the shoulder today... that. is. BAD.

I kept wondering.... did he courtesy wave? heh heh

I smile at (nice) people when I drive, too, because why not? We're all stuck in the same place. But man, some people do have mighty road rage. Not pretty. Maybe it's the tourists like Ellen suggested?

Laurie! Your timing was impeccable! I just got home cussing up a storm, because some dude out here in Buttfuck, CA ran a stop sign and flipped me off. I was all set to head back East, and then I read your blog. It must be fate!

Or the humidity.

Laurie Ann, you are cracking me up.

Nothing makes me happier than a new post on CAP - I got nothing else, except, my god the the 95 degrees here in NC are killing me (yes, each and every degree), so I can't even imagine reaching ahunnerd. I am making my official request for it to stop at 95 and start going down from here on. But alas, global warming has a differnt idear.

Also, ya'll. WHY didn't the side ponytail ever come back?

LOL

The side pony tail always took me so friggin' long to get in place... centered evenly on the side of the head, not pulling too hard, and well, the imbalance up top was just not good for my coordination in general! I was clumsy in those days already!

Dry heat, wet heat, when it's above 90 it's all frickin' heat! I think the Courtesy Wave is a Southern thing, too...here you give a CW if you're ridin' down the road and see a car you know, or think you know, or think looks like your mother-in-law's sister's cousin's car. You never know, you might NOT give the CW to someone you should, and be shunned from polite society fo'-evah! But it definitely should be implemented in the rest of the universe. We're just way ahead of y'all in the manners department around heah.

Y'all ... Portland Oregon is supposed to be 105 this weekend! Hello? 105?!!! One of the reasons I left LA was to escape the heat! BAH!

Oh, and I was ALL about the pony tails (one on each side of my head) growing up. My mom always tried (ya know, like for school pictures) to pull my hair straight back over the top of my head and fasten it with a barrette at the top back of my head. Uh ... NO. Pony tails, mom! Must. Have. Pony tails!!! :)

I live in Chicago, where every person and child in the city and suburbs owns a car, yet we only have 3 lane higways. I always courtesy wave and I try to let people who use their signal get into my lane. The people who don't and just try to cut me off - not so much. WWJD? He would surely use his freaking turn signal!! (Except I picture Him more as a cyclist.) Although I do want to say that I am reasonable and if there is obviously a lot of room, I don't really mind. Plus, we do not carry machine guns (L.A.) or hunting rifles (MI), so it's not like I'm gonna pop a cap in someone's ass. P.S. Sorry about the heat. Isn't there a fountain (to jump into) in front of Union Station or something?

We do the CW here in the great Midwest. In fact, it gets passed down during driver's ed training too (Mr. Eggers (my DE teacher): okay, now she's let you in, just raise your hand and give a small wave there...) - it's the civilized thing to do.

And I was shocked (shocked!) that no one did it out in DC the first time I traveled out there for business. Nearly fell over from the overwhelming attitude of entitlement out there on the roads.

The chick in Napoleon Dynamite tried to bring the side pony back too. Alas, to no avail. Does the car say something about Jerry Stiller?

While we're on the subject of the Courtesy Wave, can we maybe also get people to put their shopping carts in the designated areas? It drives me NUTS to see some middle-aged woman driving a big, honking SUV - it's ALWAYS a big, honking SUV - who just abandons her shopping cart in the grocery store parking lot because she's too lazy to walk 20 yards and put the cart back in the rack.

It drives me SO nuts, I usually end up making three or four trips to round up all the stray carts in my vicinity, usually shooting death glares at the offenders - who, quite frankly, could USE the exercise, am I right? - who usually try to pretend I don't exist.

GRRRRRRRR. Obviously, their mothers didn't raise them with any kind of manners. They probably leave their clothes all over the floor at home, too, expecting the maid to clean up after them.

I get to go to work in a helicopter - not because I'm rich but because I work on oil rigs in the North Sea off the Scottish coast. Why is this relevant? You try a 2 hour journey in a helicopter with 3 layers of clothing on ('tis the offshore law) plus a survival suit made of the highly breathable fabrics of neoprene and goretex while it's 28+degrees centigrade outside. Nae fun I can tell you! It's hot, way too hot - plus the suits are yellow, not a good look on anyone!

Fuck goats - class!

I JUST gave someone the courtesy wave at lunch!

I completely agree....that karma train has a way of coming back at you - just for the courtesy wave.

It is hot here today too....not as bad as Monday.
BTW, do they use the heat index there too? It is like the wind chill, but opposite. I guess they can't just leave you with a temp of 100, they have to tell you that it feels like 108.

In the summer, the humidity level in NYC is consistently above 70% so I feel your pain!

Instead of the courtesy wave, my husband and I use a peace sign.

PS - I am a big fan of the courtesy wave. I always give it to drivers who yield to pedestrians like me instead of hitting the gas pedal like most people do.

I'm not going to try to tell you that anything over 90º with any degree of humidity is comfortable, but just try 98-99º with 80% humidity.

But at least I don't have to deal with traffic. (When I do drive, I applaud the use of the courtesy wave. Or the courtesy blinking of lights/brights as more visible from the next car.)

hilarious. as usual.

I myself always utilize the Courtesy Wave. It's just good karma to do so, I think.

I'm a big fan of the courtesy wave. Not many people do it here in St. Louis, and it really ticks me off when someone speeds all the way down the soon-to-be closed lane, then agressively pushes their way into traffic and doesn't even wave at the car they forced to let them in.

#1) How hard is it to change lanes when the first "Right lane ends" sign shows up

#2) Just a little wave to acknowldege you're being a jerk, ok?

Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants if air had calories....crap....

If I may share my two cents, I think any concerted effort to encourage use of the courtesy wave should be accompanied by a movement to end MISuse of the "courtesy" wave. I didn't drive much before I moved to LA (had been living in NYC), and when I got here, I soon learned to associate the "courtesy" wave with jerks who cut me off, and then demurely wave, as if I had invited them to try to kill me. I learned to resent the wave. But I could come to appreciate it again, if used properly.

I love the CW and use it often. My husband likes to give an enthusiastic thumbs up instead of the middle finger, along with a big crazy grin--it's kind of disturbing and that appeals to him I guess.

Your comment about the chewability of the air reminded me of 1983 (gads!) when my two best girlfriends and I drove a van down to the desert to see the US Festival. Flock of Seagulls! David Lee Roth! David Bowie! 3 days of heat and dirt and bikinis and rock music. I still can't believe our parents let us do it. The smog was so thick the first day, we would stand up to dance and have to sit down in a few minutes, all winded, while the locals kept dancing. The second day was better--we discovered that there were MOUNTAINS that we could not see the first day due to the low brown "haze". Still one of the best times I have ever had--or I am getting old.

Hey, I didn't know your nickname was Corky...

I am a native Angelena and huge fan of the courtesy wave. I also find that smiling...yes folks, smiling, can help as well.

Now you know when I get home tonight I've got to put my hair in a side ponytail...I'm just obsessive that way.

I usually give the courtesy wave. I thought for a while that maybe there had to be something a little better, so I tried giving a thumbs up. But it turns out that that is a lot harder to do.

1)If every driver lets one car in, the traffic flows - no bottlenecks. Add a CW and we are golden.
2)Big smiles to the semi-drivers who block the right shoulder so the nimrods can't cut in at the last minute
3)Love your blog, Laurie!
4)Your odes to daily living are funny, poignant, and just make sense...

I even courtesy wave when I'm NOT the one driving the car. If I feel my friendly chauffeurs aren't quick enough on the draw, I'm always good to raise my hand and wiggle my fingers in a little grateful acknowledgement.

I always courtesy wave. I just think its the polite thing to do. But then again I also believe in using my blinkers too. Blinkers - what a concept!

My friend Judy has a lot of goats. 17, at last count. I really really like goats a lot. They are some of hte funniest creatures on God's green earth. But really, they do kinda smell, and well, I just can't imagine.....

with Napoleon Dynomite, we Idahoans single-handedly tried to bring the side pony tail back. Once again it didn't work. damn.
Courtesy wave? I am all about the courtesy wave, I just can't seem to find many people who are willing to let me in.....

I'm pretty sure "Goats" is a gang, most likely based on the chinese new year. I belong to a roving gang of "Rats"...not that I wrote that about the Goats though... I'm just saying is all.

Speaking of drifting, when did poor back-woods driving like one of the Dukes become a sport? I could have contended back in the 80's.

Could you clean up that air and turn down the temps please before I get there? Thankyouverymuchinadvance.

I wore a low, side ponytail most of last week. Rear tails interfere when seated in the car or bus and when carrying a backpack. There is a place and time for everything. Like the CW, it is good to use when you accidentally cut someone off in trafic. I guess that is more like "I'm sorry I drive like an idot" wave. When and where is the right time to Fuck a goat?

Please let me wash that car. OCD here.

I agree with the courtesy wave. Here in Oklahoma, land of politeness and southern manners, drivers are forgetting how to give that small gesture of saying thank you. I guess it's just getting bad all over.

Oh, it is beyond bad out there. I have been mowed over in the check-out line at the grocery store!!!!!!!! I just need to stay home.

Drew, we're saving all the best smog for YOU!

Just have to agree here - moist or dry heat, above 88 (for me) is just too unbearably hot to rate on the hell-o-meter. And I moved from upstate NY, where everyone kept saying "oh, it'll be great, it's a dry heat!" What a load!

As for the CW - not just a southern thing. We do it up here in Northern CA too. Well, at least some of us do.

Good Lord, I'd heard that leaving white laundry out on a clothes line in L.A. would turn it brown, that is if it wasn't stolen first, but that smogged car is crazy!
Maybe it doesn't get out anymore, because the driver got sick of all the crazies cutting him off and not giving the courtesy wave.

Too funny! I've been to LA and...well...I refused to drive there, hubby did all the driving! I would kill someone, either by causing a major accident or road rage!
About the picture...just how long has that car sat there? You would think with the speeds people drive on the freeway some of the "dust" would blow off!

Oh, I meant to ask - is that car permanently parked in the garage there or does it move? I can't imagine driving with that much dirt on the windows...even MY car is cleaner than that! (Plus, I noticed that it says "take me to the street" on the trunk)

I am a native Angelino and I do the CW--but whoever said it above is right--it is awful when someone cuts you off and you have to slam on your brakes and then they give you the courtesy wave. It's like when Macs first came out and they would give you a little bomb icon when they crashed. And you had to click "OK". But people here are just going stark raving mad in the heat. I had the manager at an Aaron Brothers store yell at me to "just get out, we don't need your business" yesterday, because I complained that I didn't know what the rules were for the one cent frames. Then at the gas station, a lady was sitting, stock still in her car for like three minutes (an entire song at least), when I finally pulled around her to get to the pump, she rolled down her window and screamed at me "I was going to use that pump. Oh and by the way you are not that smart anyway." I have no idea what in the world she was talking about.

I use more 'courtesy spirit fingers' than an actual wave,
I do have to say (while on the topic of driving/road rage) that white minivans are the bain of my existance!! I don't know why, but white minivans are always cutting me off or driving haphazardly in front of me...My fingers get spirited for them too, just with different enthusiasm - and sometimes flashing brights (as I am not a honker)
p.s...:Laurie dahling, I'm going to try a sock when my yarn arrives*(*notice pair is not implied as I'm scared!)
I'll let you know how it goes..guess I'm kind of hoping you'll come to the dark side with me....thge kitties might need x-mas stockings in a few months y'know?

I sure do miss the courtesy wave. I have actually been known to show the finger if I don't get the courtesy wave after I have single handedly stopped traffic just to let that one person out!

Melise: I saw a lady in heels and a skirt today at the downtown farmer's market practically SHOVE another business lady out of her way for a free strawberry sample.

Cray-zee-zee.

on the side pony thing....I think it is the style with all the long layers...actually the layers are too short to make it all the way around one's head. Not such a pretty look with straggly hair on one side and then three-quarters all nicely tucked in the side pony. I guess that is just me.

Driving...people in Alaska do not know how to truly drive. It could be a long post that would horrify and bore you by turns.

However, there is very little driving to do and our smog is glacial dust in the air. You should try it sometime.

Oh, and did you ever get the package I sent you in February?

Long time reader, first time commenter.

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV (and now live in humid as all get out PA) and have 2 things:

1) anything above %20 humidity is muggy, especially at temperatures above 75. (seriously, 77 degrees and 90% humidity has me more miserable than 110 and 7%) Too sticky!

2) I was taught to courtesy wave when I was taught to drive in Vegas. So, at least the locals do it. Tourists are a complete other story.

I hope things cool down for all of us soon!

I'm always afraid of doing the courtesy wave nowadays, because there are so many drivers from other countries here in LA -- and sometimes a "hello" wave in one country means "I kill you and your family" in another. So, be careful.

And all this time I thought the CW was a Midwest thing. I was initially taught "The Wave" by my DE instructor, Sister Mary Mark (seriously!), then my dad followed through, and now my DH drives with his hand on the steering wheel so that he can easily wave at drivers, bikers, walkers, kids playing b-ball in the middle of the road... Ah, small town life, eh?

Hey there, Laurie, because of you I am currently taking a knitting class. I can knit! I can purl! I can YO!!! Wahoo. I'm taking a sock knitting class next month -- Christmas stockings for everyone!

Right on, JO! Welcome to the fiber obsession, it may never let go, but, oh is it a great ride.

I always use the Courtesy Wave! It's just good manners. I also don't have anything against goats... they bring us mohair!

Julie was here

I always use the Courtesy Wave! It's just good manners. I also don't have anything against goats... they bring us mohair!

Julie was here

I extend a hand across the pond and recommend that one day, you come visit our wonderous land. The UK is having a bit of a heatwave apparently...we have even been mentioned along the likes of the Canary Islands and dammit the temperature was hotter here today than it was there! Yes this fair isle that is so usually full of cloud and rain....all that beautiful green grass is, alas, at the present moment, brown and bone dry....aside from that however, not only did we have a beautiful hot sunny day today (36C....approx 95F I think).... we also had The Jerry Springer show on the television. Another channel made up for it though by showing the excellent LOST this evening.

In short, I am MELTING. I am not used to it....hazy this morning, smelly city? You bet....you are not alone in LA with the current weather fiasco!

Regards

My favorite is when someone courtesy-waves me after cutting me off. I have to say, though, that for all the stereotypes of rude Yankees, we do quite a lot of courtesy-waving here. I think we're even getting a little better about letting people in. Of course both DH's car and mine are over 10 years old, giving the driver of that shiny new Beemer pause.

I like goats myself, but not that much.

Oh good golly, Miss Laurie, you had me laughing OUT LOUD with this post! Well, you often have me laughing out loud with your posts but this one was just so perfect 'cause it's frickin' hot out here on the east coast, too. I won't compare our levels of crabbiness and roadrage. We'll just leave it as a tie, OK? We could do with more courtesy waves on this side of the country, too.

I too, am a huge fan of the courtesy wave - my boyfriend laughs at how excited I get when someone actually gives me one.

I tried to bring the side pony tail back too - we applied them to many extras in a film I worked on. Unfortunately, the film was crap and no one will ever see it or be influenced. Sigh.

I wonder how many stalkers.. er, people are going to give Laurie a courtesy wave on her way home tonight.

Humidity? ALL Weekend, up until today... it's been >80% humidity and north of 90 degrees. It's like swimming in air. Now THAT's miserable.

BTW - Detroit still has the courtesy wave - followed by the person they are cutting off giving them that other wave. They just quit using blinkers here. Can't let anyone know what move you're going to make. It's some sort of stealth driving!

The courtesy wave is definitely a southern thing and something I have grown to love and embrace. However I have learned that there are different types of courtesy waves so don't get confused:

1)the sarcastic courtesy wave ("thanks for trying to run me off the road! nice!);

2)the sorry-I-forgot-how-to-drive courtesy wave useful when you space out and end up in a different lane then the one you began in;

3)the we-have-the-same-car-isn't-that-cool courtesy wave (dorks);

4)the I-know-it-took-a-lot-out-of-you-sorry-I-ruined-your-day-by-wanting-to-merge courtesy wave (usually in response to the visible sigh you see in your rearview mirror;

5) my personal favorite--the wtf courtesy wave (the use of all fingers is optional).

I forgot #6: The I'll-wave-because-you-forgot-to courtesy wave

The side pony tail is just wrong. Wrong like knit acrylic sweat pants. Wrong like Barry Manilow.

what is up with the humidity this summer? it has never been like this since i've been living down here! it is disgusting and i feel like i can't get enough showers!

OMG - I was jsut explaining the courtesy wave to my girls the other day. They thought I was mad at the driver that let me merge while I was really thanking her for being so kind. The girls thought that was cool...started courtesy waving all over the place.

Is Corky the goat?

We love The Wave up here in NorCal. I always wave and smile while thinking 'thank you for not shooting me'. Gotta love the burbs.

I heart the courtesy wave. I do it all the time; I learned it from watching my parents drive in the midwest. People don't do it nearly as much as they ought to out West!

Hi! I'm late to the party, as usual. I love the smog-by. Ahhh, I remember finding nothing quite so amusing as writing pithy slogans in the dust of a dirty car. . . good ol' high school.

So I'll be in hell-A this weekend for my cousin's wedding . . . it just occured to me that I'll need a rental car, and hello, I have to DRIVE in LA?? It strikes fear in my heart. I don't know my way around LA, and now that I've adjusted to cushy, polite, speed-limit-following Oregon driving, I'm not sure if I can cope with aggressive city driving in an unfamiliar city.

I'm dreading this weekend on so many levels. . . maybe there's a Hollywood SnB I can attend, so I'll have something to look forward to? One can only hope.

Cheers,
Helen

56 percent humidity? I'd battle dragons for 56% humidity! C'mon down to DC, where 98 degrees (and NOT the singing group...) and 98 percent humidity are the norm...

Oh you are so right! I am such a big fan of the courtesy wave. If I let someone merge and don't get one I'm just bitter the rest of my drive. Cause I hate people who think they're entitled to merge. That isn't what merge means. "MERGE" means that you wait patiently until no one is around or some nice person lets you in line, the latter of which obviously deserves a courtesy wave.

Kristin, your list is right on. I use the sarcastic courtesy wave fairly often too. :)

Believe it or not, the courtesy wave is alive and well in Boston. Hell, I even give the courtesy thumbs up, to the person in front who does the nice thing for the pedestrians trying to cross or the cars trying to turn.

Heat is heat. High humidity and high heat will envelope and overwhelm you. Low humidity and high heat will suck the moisture right out of you. Either way, it's fucking hot and uncomfortable and my hair looks like hell no matter what I do with it.

The courtesy wave is nice and all, but it too has the potential for abuse. Like the idiot who cuts me off, causing me to nearly sideswipe the concrete barrier, then flashes me a courtesy wave like I let him get in front of me. That usually results in a flashing of the not-so-nice driving hand sign from me.

BTW, you totally rock.

Amen sista. Heat is heat...and who came up with this whole "dry heat" thing anyway? It still makes the sweat drip down the crack in your butt.

Here in Fresno CA we say it's not REALLY hot unTIL it hits 100 degrees (it was 107 today)so you pansey-asses where its 90 degrees, just chill out and put a coat on will ya?

PS Please excuse the heat-induced testiness.

There's a Seinfeld episode about the courtesy wave. No one really does it up in the Bay Area much anymore either. Really tees me off. I always try to do the courtesy wave. I think the courtesy wave could cut down on a lot of the road rage out there.

And the side ponytail? Are you trying to get me to scan some of my photos from the 80s? I am having visions of being in college and going to Mazatlan for spring break. I thought I was so cool sitting there on the curb while waiting for the bus with my Ray-Ban Clubfarers on and my hair purposely clipped to one side of my head.

I am a courtesy waver! It is the polite southern thing to do!

In Mass we were taught the courtesy wave, and how to use a turn signal. Heck I even wave back. Here in SD I've noticed something I call The California Slide-best witnessed on the 5 during rush hour-it happens too slow to call it getting cut off, but there is no signal, no wave. They just sliiiide into your lane 2 inches in front of you. It seems to be cooler, less wet & even breezy down here today, here's hoping some of this nice weather migrates its way up to you.

Friend who grew up in Albuquerque and now lives in Phoenix, when people suggest Arizona's 110 degree summers aren't so bad because it's a dry heat: "So is an oven."

Favorite thing seen written on a grubby vehicle: "TEST DIRT. Do not wash."

It was some horrible 100 degree plus temperature here today and is supposed to be again tomorrow. I don't even know what the humidity was. Too dang hot is all I know.

There is a sad lack of the courtesy wave up here in Canada too. I employ it regulary, and it always makes me smile when I get one from someone else. Mostly people just speed up when they see I've put my signal on to change lanes/merge. When ever possible I manoeuver (how the heck do you spell that?) in front of said nasty mcspeedypants and then let the next semi that wants to merge get right in front of me, especially if it means slowing down to let the trucker in. Nine times out of ten, I then get a courtesy flash (lights, people, lights!) from the trucker, and that just makes my day.

I just tried out the side ponytail to see why it maybe didn't catch on again. It just made me look dorky...which I am, but I don't need any help advertising it.

MARRY ME ???
:-P

Ok, so I thought I had seen my share of bad driving in the US, but does not even begin to compare to traffic in Shanghai. Most of the time I feel like everyone is involved in a giant game of bumper cars (even the buses! and cops!) and crossing the street (not even jaywalking)still feels like a nice brisk game of frogger. The key thing is nehavior that would be homicidal in the US is not considered rude or abnormal so while I sit in a cab fuming about the bus that almost ended my life everyone goes on about their business as thought it's perfectly ok and I guess by the local code of road behavior - it is.

Oh lord you have NO IDEA how long I have mourned the seemingly sudden loss of manners in the southern half of the great state of CA.
I remember a day, not so long ago, where other drivers actually DID let you merge when you had your blinker on and nowhere else to go! I remember when folks didn't swerve onto offramps only to cut ahead 4 cars by pretending that they just come up an onramp.
I remember when you could give a friendly little "THANK YOU KIND SIR!" wave and they would actually WAVE BACK!
Somehow, the courtesy wave is my measure of humanity. When people wave (even after brutally cutting me off with NO BLINKER!) I feel my faith in humanity magically restored!
But when they do NOT wave, I feel a deep sadness at the lack of manners people's mothers must teach nowadays.

Oh.. it's a sad, sad day for motherhood.

WAVE, people! It's not asking much of ya! Show your mother some respect!

Another Kristine up there said: "I love the CW and use it often. My husband likes to give an enthusiastic thumbs up instead of the middle finger, along with a big crazy grin--it's kind of disturbing and that appeals to him I guess."

My husband does that, too! Weird. Two Kristine's with matching husband humor.

And also -- if the jackass behind me is one of those people who keeps right up on your butt so that other poeple cannot merge, I just go off the deep end. I'll wait until they get good and close and then STOP and let at as many cars merge as I possibly can.
Ohh... it really brings on the angst in the car behind ya... but it's SO worth it!
KARMA is a lovely, lovely thing.

I miss the side ponytail . . .

How about bringing the country truck finger wave to the city? Ya know how you are traveling down a two lane road in the middle of nowhere and you raise your first finger at cars and trucks as you pass by? I miss the country truck finger wave in the city.

My kids like to write "Wash Me!" on the back window of my van. We live on a gravel road, so it's not clean very often. I tolerate their (what they think is) humor. But, if I ever come out and find "Fuck goats" on my van, there will be hell to pay!

Long live the courtesy wave!

it's ridiculously hot here in nyc too... thank God most of us don't have cars!!!!

it's ridiculously hot here in nyc too... thank God most of us don't have cars!!!!

The smog seems worse when you work downtown. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to view the visible ring from the high-rise buildings. In Koreatown you know it’s summer because the heat and humidity intensify the steamy smell of strange and exotic seafood wafting from the Tofu House *puke*.

I wholeheartedly support the courtesy wave. I only wish I received as many as I give. And the only ones I usually get are after I did not intentionally let someone merge, like when someone cuts me off while not using a blinker causing me to slam on my brakes and risk being rear ended. That just angers me more. Do not bother waving if I did not intentionally extend a courtesy to you. How am I supposed to let you in if you do not signal to me that you would like to change lanes? Idiots.

i'm a big fan of the courtesy wave.

If this is not an episode of Seinfeld, I don't know what is. I myself do the wave with my pinkie toe, but that's just me.

I love getting the wave from motorcycles that pass me when I'm in the carpool lane. It makes me remember to check my mirror once in a while. Which clearly not many other people do in this crazy brown town.

hi, i'm here to stop lurking, and also to claim back my griping-about-the-humidity rights, because it's 80% here in philly today!

If you ever read this message among the 111 replies to this post - know that the side pony tail back in Boston. As well as calf length leggings with a mini skirt.

* I Brake For The Courtesy Wave *

You'll be happy to know that the courtesy wave is alive and well in the midwest...or at the very least, in Cincinnati (even though the drivers ARE complete idiots). Oh and yeah...almost caught up now on Laurieland. I've missed you!