My faith in man is restored by a gallon of diet green tea

I can probably be described as being ever so slightly cynical when it comes to the intentions of the average person. Usually I am right. But sometimes a random thing will show you that people care, at least about random crap.

I am tired a lot. It comes with the territory with the life that I lead. This is not a complaint, just a statement of fact. Because of my schedule, I can sometimes forget the little things. One of the things that helps me get through my days is diet green tea. It is like crack with antioxidants and ginseng, and I am completely addicted. I drink a lot of it. But I figure it is better for me than pretty much anything I can drink a lot of instead of water, and dammit, I like flavor in my beverages. So I consider it to be an acceptable vice.

About a week and a half ago, I was driving home from Target after pulling a 2 job double. It was about 11pm when I got to the car, partialyl consumed gallon of diet green tea in tow. I got in the car and started the drive to my bed, and blissful coma.

The path home from Target is all back roads, so there is no need for high speed driving. Being back roads it isn't overly populated nor is it heavily trafficked at that time of night, so there was no one behind me until I made the turn onto Belair Road (which is a pretty major in-the-city road in Baltimore). Suddenly a car pulls up behind me and at the light starts to honk and point at my car. Well I will admit that I was curious, but at 11pm on the east side of Baltimore, you don't stop and get out of your car when someone honks and points at you. So when ther light turns green I drive on. They pull up beside me and at the next light they roll down their window to let me know that I have a gallon of juice on my roof. Yup, I put it on top of the car as I was leaving Target, and forgot to put it IN the car before I pulled away. I realized what they were talink about, but by that time the light was turning green and there were a few cars behind me, and since it had stayed up there through all the twists and turns of the drive, I figured it would be safe for the remainder, which except for the turn onto the access road and the turn onto my road, were pretty straight shots at about 35 mph. Plus, I was now kind of curious if it WOULD stay up there for the rest of the trip. It was like an impromptu science experiment. I thanked them for telling me and they drove off, and I started to make my way down the road and to the house. There were two more lights before my turn, and at both lights, multiple people told me that there was a jug of juice on top of my car. I explained to all of them that I was trying to cool it off because the refrigerator at the house was broken, they would give me a funny look, and then move on. After I made the turn into the neighborhood, I drove past random groups of people, mainly high school and college aged kids standing outside talking and stoop sitting, both Baltimore neighborhood traditions. Each group I passed, oblivious to the fact that the previous group just shouted at me that I had a bottle of juice on top of my truck, would shout to me that I had a bottle of juice on top of my truck. I thanked each group for telling me and continued on my way, while they watched me drive off with juice on my hood, looking at me rather nonplussed at my lack of caring about the aforementioned juice.

I made it home without losing the tea, and with my admiration for society's can do come together (right now over me) attitude multiplied tenfold. Because sometimes, people really don't suck.

BSR