Dumb gesture?

I think it was a typical response from a jogger who has been figuratively running from the guy in
the truck his whole life. I'll bet he wasn't honking to scare you either. Most likely he was honking
because your oxygen deprived neurological system was making you drift into traffic. And thanks to
your typical mouth breathing neanderthal response, he probably won't bother with the warning next
time. I know I wouldn't.

[email hidden] (Len A.) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

Len

I think the driver was just to busy to stop and kick your ass, today.

"Len A." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

Well, I agree with your girlfriend, but that's beside the point. The thing is, a lot of girls don't
really understand this testosterone jockeying business. If I were running on the road and someone
honked at me (esp. in bad conditions, darkness, etc.), I'd assume they were trying to alert me to
their presence, and I'd be understanding. Startled, but understanding. (Unless they were leaning out
the window and wolf-whistling).

Your girlfriend appears to also be the type to not understand/not be thrilled by Y-chromosome macho
BS. Try to avoid it in her presence and don't relate your macho-BS episodes to her expecting her
grunt sympathetically. And for god's sake--don't get into the "my way of thinking is right, and hers
is just nuts!" (which appears to have prompted your post here: the old "who's right?" post). Men and
women are raised to respond differently to these things, and, as the clever little French say, "vive
la diference."

Don't worry. In a couple of weeks an acquaintance or a relative of your gf will happen to mention
that they were passing by in their new pickup and sounded the horn in greeting. You'll all laugh as
they recall your amusing response.

--
Colm

"Len A." <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
:
: Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
: mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
: ( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
: with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
: the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.
:
: When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
: saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.
:
: Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?
:
: Len
:

f w

Len A. said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers. The truck then
just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

This may not be PC nor polite, but I say good for you. I wouldda done the same. Hate the rare jerk
(euphemism for ***hole) who sticks his head out a window and yells to scare me while driving by.

And what would a driver or passenger do if offense was taken at my finger? Get out? Catch me? I may
not be fast, but I'm already warmed up and a hell of a lot faster than the beer guzzling sedentary
fratboys around here who would be the likely culprits in the first place. And in their vehicle,
they're stuck on city streets, whereas on foot I can scamper through backyards.

Your behavior may differ depending on circumstances, but I always give the finger, which is but a
couple times a year. Syracuse not very cyclist friendly, but pretty ok for runners.

-- Josh in Syracuse

Quoted message said:

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

It seems to me that the driver was trying to get a rise out of you and it worked. Twice, if you
count both fingers.

I would still warn you buddy.

Much love, Michael

--
Michael Sikes
[email hidden]
"Miss Anne Thrope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think it was a typical response from a jogger who has been
figuratively running from the guy in the truck his whole life. I'll bet
he wasn't honking to scare you either. Most likely he was honking
because your oxygen deprived neurological system was making you drift
into traffic. And thanks to your typical mouth breathing neanderthal
response, he probably won't bother with the warning next time. I know I
wouldn't.

"Josh Steinberg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

And what would a driver or passenger do if offense was taken at my finger? Get out? Catch me? I
may not be fast, but I'm already warmed up and a hell of a lot faster than the beer guzzling
sedentary fratboys around here who would be the likely culprits in the first place.

I don't know about that - there's a big difference between being in really good shape as a daily
distsnce runner, but I bet 95% of those "beer guzzling sedentary fratboys" could catch you in a 100m
dash, which is more than any developing chase would likely last anyway.

I can run over 10 miles in a row at 6:00/mile pace, but I cannot run 200m in less than 28 seconds,
for example, and my "curve" gets way worse as the distance shortens even more. Any teenager or
college kid can beat me in a sprint. I think age has a lot to do with it.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

In article said:

"Josh Steinberg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I don't know about that - there's a big difference between being in really good shape as a daily
distsnce runner, but I bet 95% of those "beer guzzling sedentary fratboys" could catch you in a
100m dash, which is more than any developing chase would likely last anyway.

I can run over 10 miles in a row at 6:00/mile pace, but I cannot run 200m in less than 28 seconds,
for example, and my "curve" gets way worse as the distance shortens even more. Any teenager or
college kid can beat me in a sprint. I think age has a lot to do with it.

However, the "rules" of such a pursuit race are very unfair to the chaser. You get a head start, and
a running start, while they are stuck with a standing start. Most likely they're going to have a 5
second or more gap to close, and very few people will be persistent enough to close such a gap
(they'd need to chase you for more than 200m to do it)

Still, it's an experiment for which I'd rather not be a subject (-;

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Colm Gallagher said:

Don't worry. In a couple of weeks an acquaintance or a relative of your gf will happen to mention
that they were passing by in their new pickup and sounded the horn in greeting. You'll all laugh as
they recall your amusing response.

Precisely.

Most of my non-running friends don't realize how startling it is to honk a horn at a runner. They
honk as a friendly gesture.

Perhaps the guy in question wasn't being friendly, but how do you know that?

One final thought, if the guy did it to bug you, he knows he won. However, if you had just given a
friendly wave as if you thought it was a friend, HE would have been the frustrated party. His
juvenile act didn't work.

So, even if a honk startles you, treat it in a friendly manner. You win either way.

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

I agree with Mike. I *try* very hard to do just this and not jump out of my skin. They hate it.
However, if they were honking to just be freindly, they then respond with vigorous waving back. I
have a lot of cars that pass me now that wave when they see me. I have no idea who they are but I
always smile and wave back. I figure if I have a problem one day some of those people might actually
stop and help me. At least if they're waving at me, there paying enough attention to not
accidentally run me over! ;-)

Teresa in AZ

Mike Tennent said:

One final thought, if the guy did it to bug you, he knows he won. However, if you had just given a
friendly wave as if you thought it was a friend, HE would have been the frustrated party. His
juvenile act didn't work.

So, even if a honk startles you, treat it in a friendly manner. You win either way.

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

Quoted message said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

If that is all that ever happens to you running be content.

Some significant percentage of drivers should not be on the road and it only takes one. Drinking,
phoning, senescent, ill, using, withdrawing, DT's, sleep-deprived, visually impaired, paranoid,
manic, depressed, anxious, delusional, hallucinating, hurting, inattentive, distracted, angry,
unlicensed, late for the card game, reaching into the passenger seat, reading a map, chatting,
blinded by headlights, reading road signs, lost, used to driving on the left, speeding, driving with
bald tires, misaligned tires, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, fogged windshield, music blaring,
night blindness, narcoleptic, prone to apnea, angina, heart attack, stroke victim, brain damaged,
vomiting, spilling hot coffee, on the run, in a chase ...

Being an avid cyclist as well as a runner, I encounter aggressive drivers many times per year. I've
never gotten hassled running (knock on wood).

My response to honking motorists, and the response of most of my cycling friends, is to give a
cheerful wave. Always.

If the motorist is earnestly trying to warn you, s/he deserves a thanks, even if the honk is
startling and counterproductive.

If the motorist is hostile, a cheerful wave instantly derails any escalation in aggression (which is
good if it is an insane person + 3,000 lb. + possible firearm). It also shows that, unlike the
driver, you are capable of thinking with your brain instead of your glands.

Scott

Len A. said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

Len

Quoted message said:

My response to honking motorists, and the response of most of my cycling friends, is to give a
cheerful wave. Always.

Yes. This is the wisest advice. You may not feel like it, or even have time to think about it, but
this is a decision you can make in advance which cannot harm you and may defuse a potential problem.
Like Scott, my experience is that such interactions are far more common when you are cycling than
running, and that being so, it behooves the runner to take a tip from the cyclists.

Lots of drivers carry guns these days.

[email hidden] (Len A.) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Okay running through the frozen tundra that is New England this afternoon, I was into my second
mile and getting warm and getting focused. All of a sudden the blare from a pickup truck sound out
( obviously to shock me which it did), without thought my testosterone kicked in and I gesture
with my finger. The truck stopped , I raised both arms up and gave two fingers, ( now standing in
the middle of the road). The truck then just took off.

When I made it home I told my girlfriend and she wondered why I did not get beat up or something
saying it was really stupid of me to have done what I did.

Well yeah it was but... what do you all think?

Len

You must ALWAYS control yourself in these situations. If not you might get killed. I know of a guy
who got his throat slit in a simliar situation. He died right on the street. The "killer" was a
college student in his early 20's. You never know what the other person will do. Don't give the
finger. Don't do anything at all. Keep on running. Wear a Walkman. Ignore it. It's very hard but
it's the only thing you can to to be safe.