I think it was a psychologist talking early in the morning, on TV, about angst-filled folks. There’s much angst, the psychologist was saying, and he’s probably spot-on about that.
The psychologist, as I recall, was equating folks’ angst – their discontent – to all sorts of things. Like getting vaccinated, for instance.
And he seemed to really nail something that, like me, you’re probably seeing more often than not, maybe when you’re out on the road?
The psychologist put it this way, I recall, that someone thinking… ‘I don’t have to get vaccinated for COVID’ may transfer that way of thinking to something else, like, for example: ‘I don’t have to drive the speed limit.’
That same morning, also very early, I happened to be out on the road, experiencing in real time what the psychologist had been talking about.
A car whizzes past me, in our residential neighborhood. And then, another driver races by. And down the road a bit, we all get to the same three stoplights. The two speeding drivers haven’t gained any time, at all.
But, at least, something good happens, to balance things, a little bit.
When I turn onto a busier two-lane street, there’s someone on a bicycle, to the right of me. And the sun’s not up yet. It’s still dark, and the biker has one of those flashing lights at the back of the bicycle. I slow down, waiting for cars in the lane to the left of me, to pass by, so I can move over to the second lane, to give the bike rider a little space, and some safety, and peace of mind.
I’m waiting for one more car to roll by, and I’ll be darned, the driver slows down, so I can move to the second lane. And that’s so good, even though such goodness so rarely happens these days, when you’re out on the road.
And I’m thinking that yes, indeed, that psychologist on TV really got to the heart of what may be ailing us, just now?
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.