Friday evening run to College Park (U of MD) Chipotle to pick up dinner – US 1, 4 lanes, is bumper to bumper both directions, as usual. As I get into the L turn lane, a nice young man sprints across the right hand 2 lanes and in front of the Bird. He’s, then, stuck in the middle with no break in the on-coming traffic. It’s also a little obvious he’s come from the popular student watering hole on the corner. So, I’m sitting there. Watching traffic for a L turn break, keeping an eye on the light, and watching him in my peripherals. He turns around, looks in my direction, and starts frantically motioning me to roll down the window. As soon as it’s half-way down, he starts with “What a fantastic car! Wow, just look at it! Man, that is fabulous!” “What kind of car is that?” In between the gushes, I also get “That’s, like, what, fifty-thousand?” “I bet you’re a doctor. Only doctors drive cars like that!” He’s also repeating things, several times. I realize I’m having a discussion with someone who’s not going to remember most of it in the morning, but what the heck. At one point, I considered asking him if he wanted to go for a ride – but then I remembered my partner sitting at home waiting for a burrito. When I finally got the green arrow, he asked one last question “What do you do?” I looked him in the eye and said, “I work for the government . . . and I have your name.” And then pulled away.


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