08.21.04 - 3:40 pm

old people. the elderly. they just dont have the capacity to understand what theyre doing.

yesterday an old couple in a little 1980something volkswagon were driving infront of me as i drove to work. they suddenly stopped their car and turned it at 45 degree angle in the middle of the street. like they were pulling into a parking spot, only it was right infront of me.

in the middle of the road.

and they stopped there and began looking for something in their car, or at a map or whatever they felt they needed to do right then and there. apparently they thought they had pulled over.

old people also completely stop before they make a turn. driving while turning is out of the question. they stop. they put just a little bit of pressure on the pedal and ease their way into a turn. dozens of cars suddenly coming to a stop behind them, impatiently waiting for them to finally get off the road...none of this matters.

driving 15 mph on a 45 mph road. why? for what reason? just because theyre out on a leisure stroll through town doesnt mean the rest of the city crawling behind them is.

"oh no no no. we dont want to go fast, this will make it last longer." this is what my grandpa david once told me as we rode together on a waverunner. a waverunner creeping along at low speeds vibrates terribly. my hands started to ache. we were being passed by boats and jetskis and girls and people confused as to why the hell we were trotting along in the middle of the river.

however, amidst this, i can say with complete certainty, that i too will be chastized as i have done by those much younger than myself. and all too soon.

i cant even imagine the world of change my grandpa dick has had to keep up with in the 80 years hes been alive. since 1924, how the world has changed. hes seen combat change from infantry and handheld black and white cameras on foriegn beaches and deaths by the thousands to cameras being on the actual weapons fired from aircraft miles above their targets. hes seen phones change from something you wind up on a wall to a tiny device that allows you to talk on the phone and play solitaire at the same time. computers. the first apple to the most advanced laptops.

i too, have experienced a small amount of this rapid changing world. nintendo entertainment system. the original. and now xbox. games where your pixelated character is in sideview with a few simple colors to a movie like first person view game as difficult and tangible as real life.

sixty years from now i will have someone bitching about my driving. my lack of useful skills in a world fast paced, electronic and digital. in a time where speed will be most important, maybe then, ill tell ashton's son, "hey, go slow like this....make it last."