Overtaking

I had to drive to Sydney the other day.

It’s a stretch of country road that winds through forests and farmland — slow and twisty in parts, and always asking you to stay awake. A kangaroo can appear out of nowhere. A wombat can wander into your path, unbothered.

Most people hover around the speed limit. Then there are the cautious ones — braking early, slowing for every corner, speeding up and dropping off again for reasons only they understand.

Yesterday I got stuck behind one of those.

It didn’t take long before I noticed myself getting impatient. Annoyed. And then the commentary started — the running monologue about the person in front of me who was “holding me up.” I couldn’t overtake. I was stuck. And then came the line: how can you be this bad?

About ten minutes later, a safe overtaking lane opened up and I took it.

As I passed, I glanced across — and recognised the driver.

It was the owner of our local fruit and veg shop. A genuinely lovely person. The kind you always end up chatting with. Someone I like.

And just like that, the rant evaporated.

Same road. Same delay.

But now it wasn’t “some idiot in a car.” It was someone I knew. A person.

Turns out it’s easier to be annoyed at a car than at a person. For me, anyway..