When I feel like shooting pool, I usually head up to Capone's in Spring Hill because it's a nicer drive than the one down to DJ's in New Port Richey. Of course, "nicer" doesn't necessarily mean pleasant.
I was heading north on 19 the other day toward Capone's when I come to the intersection of 19 and County Line Road. If you're not local, let me explain to you that the west end of County Line Road has recently been renovated. Once a two lane road, it has been widened and now sports two lanes going each way. In fact, for the first quarter mile there are three lanes heading east and west. It has cut the driving time to the pool room by five or ten minutes mainly because of the two or three miles during which you can pass a lot of those drivers who get off causing log jams.
The route isn't without its irritants, though. There are those women and old coots who jump into the left lane only to go the exact same speed as cars in the right lane thereby virtually blocking off the road. Then, there are those who drive 60 mph, making it ill advised to pass them since the limit is 50 mph, but who eventually, when the traffic merges into a single lane, slow down to 45 even though the speed limit hasn’t changed. Old drivers in Florida have a favorite song. It’s I love a parade and there’s nothing that brings them more pleasure than seeing a line of cars behind them. I usually get close behind these morons and flip them the bird, hoping they see me in their rearview mirrors.
Anyway, when I got to the intersection of Hwy 19 and County Line Road (CLR), the light was red but there was an opportunity to go right on the read. Unfortunately, the dude in front of me in this white sedan was dozing. I sounded the horn and he finally went into motion just as the southbound 19 turn lane got the green. There was quite a lot of action with us and, now, the turn lane entering CLR. The guy in front of me turns directly into the middle lane and I turn into the right lane. I want to pass him, but he doesn't like the idea and speeds up. Finally, I kick it into passing gear and get around him just where the right lane ends. It's then the siren comes on and a state trouper pulls me over at the traffic light by the golf course.
Now, the trouper had been watching the whole thing play out. He walks up to my window and asks for my paper work. While I'm digging around for it the dude in the white car sitting at the red light and feeling all good about the way things were going gives a celebratory toot of his horn. The trouper gives him a long look and then turns back toward me. I think the toot of the horn was what tipped the scales in my favor because he told me to drive a little more carefully from then on, which I did... for a few days, anyway.
The point being, the asshole in the white car did me a big favor when he tooted his horn. Though I hate the bastard and would have liked to pound the shit out of him and that gloating pig sitting next to him, fact is, on account of him being a dedicated asshole, I was spared a ticket.
Funny how things work out sometimes.
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