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 Road Rage in Roanoke I stayed in the nice Motel 6 on the outskirts of Roanoke on Saturday evening, then got politely kicked out of my room on Sunday morning by a cluster of maids because I'd misread the checkout time (oops!) After sheepishly packing up my truck, I drove into Roanoke to get some gas. Every now and then while driving across the country, I seem to have a "Duel"-like experience with a sinfully rude truck driver – a nasty encounter that I had on a freeway in Indiana in 1998 was especially memorable – and, as it turned out, today would be that day.
For those of you too young to remember, "Duel" was Steven Spielberg's directorial debut in 1971, a disturbing made-for-TV movie that starred Dennis Weaver as a guy who drove across an empty highway in the West while being perpetually tormented, for unknown reasons, by a truck driver who's face you never see. I watched "Duel" only once, in 1971 when it was first released, but the haunting story has stuck with me vividly all these years. "Duel" was probably the first movie ever made about road rage, a term and affliction which, unfortunately, have become commonplace in this country.
As I was merging onto the nearly-empty freeway heading into Roanoke, a truck who was barreling down the freeway at 65 m.p.h. in the right lane refused to let me in. I have no idea why but maybe it was my colorful Oregon plates (remember how I got keyed in Austin?), my Japanese import pickup, or the "Wisconsin" sticker on the back of my truck. Whatever it was, this guy was determined not to let me merge onto the freeway. As the end of my merge lane quickly drew near, I floored the gas pedal and pulled in front of the trucker, who greeted me with a bellowing 120-decibel blast from his horn.
He wouldn't let up, either, and tailed me closely into downtown Roanoke on a side street, finally passing me while giving me the finger after I pulled into a Chevron. Yep, it was all my fault because I had the gall to get onto "his" freeway. Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive – or have children. Anyway, I shrugged it off and, after grabbing some donuts in the mini-mart, I felt much better. Donuts always have a soothing effect on me.
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