Common Sense In A Long Line

                                                        or
                                   ROAD RAGE at the LANDFILL
                                                       by
                                            Norma A. Vincent


      I think I remember a long time ago my son's telling me, "Never go the dump on a Monday. I guess I forgot, as my schedule this week included a Monday dump run of all the accumulation of throw-aways I'd gathered. I spent two hours loading the small trailer and then off to the Barney White road to deposit my unwantables.
      Eyebrows raised at the long line, but what the heck, I was in no hurry. There is, however, a procedure to follow, and an "intersection" which has to be crossed, separating the car line from the big truck line and vehicles exiting the first building, which you bypass, across the intersection,  and, coming out of the huge building where trash is dumped, the outgoing line which has to stop at this same intersection to let others, from the first building, in line or pass through.
     When I got my stuff unloaded I was prepared for the long line and the stop at the intersection. As the line moved, usually one car at a time, someone else could join the line, (the way you let someone in your traffic line who is waiting to get in line), or the next car in your line would move up.
     That is, until the pickup in front of the car ahead of me got to the intersection. He crossed all right, but when the cars in front of him curved around to stop just before the scales,  this guy decided to wait until two cars had moved forward. No one behind him could move an inch. The trucks off to the left at the intersection couldn't join the line, and the one in front of me couldn't go anywhere. I finally got across the intersection and was astonished to see what this guy was doing each time a car ahead of him moved forward: He SAT THERE. (He was, in fact, eating his lunch....) Every time the line in front of him moved, he'd wait until two cars moved up, leaving a space which could hold one truck or two cars.  After about two of these tortoise moves, I got out of my van and went over to his window. Two guys were eating sandwiches. I said, "Look, you're holding up the line. You need to move when a car moves forward."   He had some excuse between bites of his sandwich, something about...(.I didn't listen). I was mad. I said, "People are waiting to get in line and you sit here. You need to move when they move." .I said, "Please," as I walked back to my van, figuring that would do it.
       Well, the guy ahead of me amened, and the jerk moved forward, but---what the heck!---very next move, he did the same thing again. I honked my horn and hollered "JERK."  (very good Christian attitude!!!)--and got a "thumbs up" from the man ahead of me but absolutely slow response from the Jerk. (By this time he was a jerk). FINALLY he moved up.   I'll bet everyone in the back of the line cheered, as they were all stalled and the line going back clean into the building. Nobody could move because of this jerk.  I was tempted to pull out of line around him and get in the space, would have served him right, but I had the trailer and figured I'd better not try). Would have taught him a lesson, though. Maybe not. I don't think he was open to learning anything.
       When I got to the pay booth I told the cashier about that guy. Not that it does any good, but how stupid can people be?  You don't leave "spaces" on ferries or slow moving dump lines! Or you get "No moving" lines.
       Whatever  happened to Common Sense and courtesy?
     I don't mind waiting in lines, normally, but when jerks are in them I'll pass.
      No more Monday dump runs for me!