POLITENESS IN TRAFFIC JAMS

The adage is do-unto-others-as-you-have-them-do-unto-you (actually, it is "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them", Matthew 7:12, but I can't quote that right off the top of my head).

And I do struggle to incorporate this in even dire, possibly life-changing situations - such as letting someone else merge into your lane while you are idling and sitting perfectly still in a massive traffic jam.

This evening, I took my daughter's car for an extended drive into the Hawaiian sunset for one pure and simple reason - to use up the gas in the tank.

Shipping automobiles is a regular concern for military families when you are stationed overseas - such as Hawaii (yes, I know it's a state, but both Alaska & Hawaii are both considered 'overseas' tours by the military). 

 And before they will take your car on-board, you must have less than a quarter tank of gasoline - safety reasons.

My son-in-law was willing to simply let the engine run until it got to the prescribed limit -- I figured it was better to go for a long drive.

And he was right.

Hawaiians, known for their aloha spirit, graceful manners and easy temperament turn into ogres at rush-hour. It may be in part because there is only one highway to get from Honolulu to any place eastward (H1), and only two ways to the windward side of the island (H3 or around Diamond Head).

And when the choice is between being polite and giving up your position in line by a few meters, it gets fairly nasty.

As if letting ONE car get ahead of you will make a more than nano-second change in the time you arrive home to watch television for the rest of the evening... when you have a DVR and are already recording anything you really want to see.

It got pretty nasty out there tonight.

But now, at least, there is very, very, VERY little gasoline left in the car.