Calming the rage within

Those of you who have had the privilege (and it is a privilege) of riding in a car while I'm driving know that I am not exactly the epitome of serenity behind the wheel. As a matter of fact, some of the things that I do could (possibly) be classified as road rage-y.

Now, despite the wide variety of (highly justified) reasons I have for screaming at, giving dirty looks to, and questioning the ancestry of my fellow drivers (see previous posts for examples), I have decided that it may not be best for me and my family if I continued along my present path. And so, several months ago, I decided that, for better or for worse, I needed to calm the road warrior within me and embrace the zen of Utah driving. With that goal in mind, I set off on my plan.

First idea - remembering scores of talks from my young men's leaders about how music affects us, I decided to switch my commuting music habits. No more alternative, rock, classic rock, heavy metal, hair metal, death metal, or polka. I now listened to two stations exclusively - KBYU and KUED (utah's PBS affiliates). What did this mean for me? A steady diet of classical music, elevator jazz, and hour-long commentaries on the poetry of Robert Frost.

It didn't work.

Turns out, I don't mind classical music, but its hard to hear anything classical at freeway speeds (at least in my car - maybe new cars actually make an attempt to block out engine noise). All of the rest of that stuff - not my cup of tea.

So the great music experiment (which lasted a month) didn't end up helping too much.

Next idea - slow down. I've noticed that most of my rage comes from people who have a complete inability to understand the concept of multiple lanes on a freeway. I figured that if I never even tried to drive in the passing lane, I wouldn't get mad at the people who instead used the passing lane as a put-on-your-makeup lane. What did this entail for me? Always leave with plenty of time to get from one place to another without needing to be in a hurry.... let's just say that idea two didn't last near as long as idea one.

By this point, I was getting desperate, as my genius daughter was learning new vocabulary at an amazing rate. As a quick fix, I began referring to all my fellow drivers as 'buddy'. (as in "hey buddy, watch where you're going!" or "get in your own lane buddy!")

Anyways, to make a long story less long: I am happy to report that I now am in complete control of myself as I drive down the freeway, and all without the aid of bonsai trees, rock gardens, or sand patterns. What's the secret to my newfound inner peace? My ipod. I love that thing, and the free downloads of podcasts like cartalk, wait wait don't tell me, and the bill simmons report. Any ideas for other (free) pod-tainment?