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6 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Basic Black by Arthur Black C hurCh D ireCtory Orono United Church 111 Church St. N. 905-485-5502 - orono.uc@rogers.com Road rage: A handy guide It was a sweltering mid-summer day and I was stopped at a traffic light. The AC was on the fritz so I had all the car windows open. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have heard the cursing. It came from the car behind me. I could see the driver's face in my mirror. It was deep magenta, his eyes were bulging, the veins in his neck standing out like sail shrouds. He was leaning toward his front passenger window, directing a Niagara of expletives at the people in the car alongside him. In that car sat a frail and elderly couple, frozen in fear, staring straight ahead. I don't know the nature of the old folks' driving infraction, real or imagined, but the berserker's reaction was absurdly over the top. What made it extra ugly was the little boy sitting beside the driver -- his son, presumably ­ also staring straight ahead. Nice lesson in civility, Dad. Road rage. What a weird phenomenon. Where did it come from? Was there such a thing as horse-and-buggy rage? Roman chariot rage? Probably. Where there's testosterone, there's a way. The term, however is only a few decades old, originating back in the 1980's as a description for a rash of car-to-car shootings that occurred on the freeways around Los Angeles. Road rage doesn't always have to involve firearms, however. It can manifest as verbal abuse, rude and menacing gestures or simple aggressive driving. Had a case of it myself, once, many years ago. A younger, stupider version of yours truly was tooling down Highway 401 north of Toronto. I blew by a middle-aged dawdler in a station wagon, not thinking much about it. A few seconds later, I looked over and there he was beside me, hunched over his steering wheel, driving fender to fender, determined to pass. Was I sensible? Did I hit the brakes and let him have his way, tut-tutting him with a mild finger wave? I mentioned younger and stupider, right? I floored it; he floored it; I floored it some more. We both hurtled down the highway at probably twice the speed limit, both of us whiteknuckling the wheel, determined that We'd Show That Jerk. Nothing tragic happened. There were no rollovers, no caroming off the guardrails or wailing cop sirens. My exit eventually came up and I took it. As my car and my heart slowed down in tandem I remember thinking: what the hell was that about? I still wonder. Why did the doofus in the station wagon feel he suddenly needed to risk his life to pass me? Why did I feel I had to risk my life to prevent him? That's the scary thing about road rage: it makes no sense at all. Some drivers describe `a red mist' swirling before their eyes and an overpowering urge to `get even' at any cost. The typical road rager? Male. Single. Spotty education. Midlevel income. And of course, young. Usually under 35. Usually, but not always. Clyde White of Corbin, Kentucky recently ran afoul of the law. The cops finally collared him, but not until the conclusion of a chase that reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour. And not before White had rammed two other cars with his own. One of the rammed cars was driven by his brother, aged 82; the other by his sister, aged 83. Clyde himself is 78. Proving that when it comes to road rage, it doesn't matter if you're young or old. Just as long as you're stupid. with Reverend Ceri Rees Sunday, February 26 10:30 a.m. service with Reverend Ceri Rees Sunday school program Everyone welcome - Wheelchair accessible Anglican Churches Rev. Ann Smith St. Saviour's - Orono 23 Mill Street · 905-485-5594 9:30 a.m. - Worship, Sunday School Y outh Group · Holy Communion - 1st & 3rd Sunday · Morning Prayer - 2nd & 4th Sunday · Coffee and Fellowship to follow. St. George's - Newcastle 250 Mill St. S. · 905-987-2019 8 a.m. - Communion 11:00 a.m. - Worship , Sunday School · Holy Communion 1st & 3rd Sunday · Morning Prayer 2nd & 4th Sunday Coffee and Fellowship to follow. www.stsavioursorono.ca Classified Business Directory LARRY JACKSON Debra Inglis Interior Design PLUMBING & WATER CONDITIONING Automotive Specialties BRIAN COUVIER Licenced Technician 117 Mill St. Orono L0B 1M0 "Look to us for all your general repairs to most make & models" Rims · Tires · Brakes · Tune-Ups Custom Exhaust Systems Castrol Engine Oil & Filter Service Specials Car & Truck Accessories Professional Installation Custom Drapery "Energy Saving Specials" Dealer & Fine Finishes by T. Osmond LDr CoNtrACtiNG * Snow Removal * * Bobcat & Minihoe Service * Dump Trailer Service * * Tree Planting & Stump Removal * · Backhoe Work/Trenching · Pump Repairs & Installation · UV Lights · Water Softeners · Free Estimates For Friendly, Expert Service 905-983-9919 Furniture Repair and Restoration Caning · Veneering · Carving French Polishes & Wicker Repair COMPLETE Luke or Lindsay Porter H. 905-983-9924 C. 905-914-6979 905-983-6214 905-983-5900 www.inglisdesign.ca 4312 Conc. #6, Kendal Experience You Can Trust 905-786-2477 I&T Carpenters · Licensed · 27 Years Experience · Custom Homes · General Contracting · Additions · House Trim · Stairs · Decks ·Windows ·Doors · Barns And all carpentry related work. Orono Veterinary Hospital Complete Residential Renovations, Additions and New Structures Windows · Soffit · Interlocking Waterproofing · Doors · Roofing Ceramic Tile · Siding Eavestroughing · Chimney Repair ~ Specializing in Stone Facing ~ Dr. Derrek de Haan Dr. Mathew Stephenson 30 Cobbledick St., Orono L0B 1M0 Tel: 905-983-9010 Fax: 905-983-5308 · ADDITIONS · RENOVATIONS · DECKS DOOR & WINDOW REPLACEMENTS · EXTERIORS · CABINETRY Authorized Consumers Gas Dealer Independent Lennox Dealer Furnaces · Air Conditioners and Appliances Main Street, Orono 983-6221 Heating · Electrical Air Conditioning ROBERT E. JACKSON "We're here to serve you" Dan Zegers 905-983-9543 TYLER SMITH broker "KRACO" CARPENTRY & CONTRACTING Since 1976 · Custom Built Homes · Renovations/Additions · Designing IVAN JONES TONY FANARA Newcastle 905-987-5819 Hampton 905-263-9988 FREE ESTIMATES Call Mike Bonneau 6495 Leskard Rd., Orono L0B 1M0 Nails & More By Becky... 905-983-9883 32 Mill St., Orono 905·697·1900 * Residential * Farms * Rural Properties * Investment Mobile: 905-435-4181 Home: 905-983-9005 Rudy Kraayvanger www.homesmiths.ca 905-623-1101 www.kraco.ca