Well, OK...so I'm not going to waste my energy coming up with a laundry list of reasons why I hate this god-forsaken, barely habitable, miserable excuse for a city. My antipathy for Houston will come as no surprise to those who've hung 'round these parts for any length of time. Being back here has only solidified my abject hatred for this hellhole. What I'm trying to figure out is how I managed to spend 3277 days here (and yes, apparently I was counting....).
With the Houston area on it's back to normalcy (some might say lunacy), I'm reminded of one of the big reasons I HATE this town: traffic...and with it the @$$hole drivers, who are legion. One of the Texas Department of Transportation's propaganda slogans (you see them on signs all over the state) is "Drive Friendly". In Houston, the literal translation of this motto is "Drive Stupid"...in which normally lucid, decent, and even friendly people get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and become flaming, self-absorbed, my-world-y'all-are-just-paying-rent @$$wipes willing to run you off the road if it will get them to their destination 30 seconds faster. These folks clearly didn't get the "We're all in this together, so how 'bout we all just try to get along?" memo, and will weave in and out of traffic at high speed, cut you off, and flip you off should you have the temerity to impede their progress or, even worse, honk at them in reaction and/or anger. Part of is the ridiculous distances involved in getting almost anywhere in Houston. In a town where you can literally drive 60+ miles without leaving the city limits, EVERYTHING is a long haul. Most people here spend a significant chunk of their lives behind the wheel, stuck in traffic...and that can and does make even the most well-adjusted souls turn borderline homicidal now and again. Unfortunately, I see large numbers of these @$$holes every day, because I'm also spending a large chunk of my life behind the wheel of a car.
Normal courtesy and decency on the roads is something in disturbingly short supply 'round here. To complicate things, it seems that for vehicles sold here in southeast Texas, turn signals are optional equipment. When turns signals are employed, they're generally not used until a vehicle has already cut you off and is 3/4 of the way into your lane- "Oh, by the way...in case you missed, I just changed lanes...and get the (&^% out of my way."
I don't think most people in this town are @$$holes. In fact, most folks are pretty decent, even downright friendly. Put these folks behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, though, and it's like flipping a switch. All of a sudden, it's full-on @$$hole mode, and the rule of the road is "kill or be killed".
For someone like myself, who's been working 12-15 hours days and is tired and extremely stressed out to begin with, this sort of madness has been extremely challenging. I'm averaging close to 200 miles of driving per day, so this is something I'm dealing with every single day. Combine that with the long hours and the stressful work enviornment, and I'm just about at the end of my rope. I'm glad to be helping out in what little way I can, but I will freely admit that I cannot WAIT to get the Hell out of Houston. Being here and dealing with the traffic and the rude, discourteous, and downright mean-spirited drivers is getting to be almost more than I can handle.
What a miserable, barely-fit-for-human habitation hellhole this place is...and to think I lived here for ten years. What in the Hell was I thinking??
Yeah, I know...some of y'all live here and actually like it. I suppose there's a lid for every pot, eh? I mean no offense, of course, but I've never been one to pull punches when it comes to expressing my antipathy for this miserable corner of the earth that's really only fit for fire ants and copperheads. My being back here was not my choice or my doing; it's my job, and I'm glad to help. When my work is done, though, I hope it will be a long time before I see Houston again (having said that, though, I may well be back here before long). Y'all can have it.
