MY WISH LIST

There are quite a number of us housewives who can add “driver” to our long list of job titles. This we do almost without fail from Monday to Friday, and maybe even Saturdays when it’s time to take our kids to their ballet classes, or probably to their voice or violin lessons, maybe even drums and guitar. Or it could be soccer practice or taekwondo! Name it and we housewives have covered it!

This particular job takes a big chunk off my day, what with the increasingly clogged streets that we Dumagueteños have to grind our teeth through! The traffic is simply horrendous nowadays, not to mention hair-raising! Have you ever tried passing through the busy roads close to bag-ong tulay or the Banica River Bridge at Angatan? During rush hours? I suggest you try it and believe me, you’ll start sighing for that Dumaguete of long ago.

I have to suffer through that traffic almost everyday. Generally, I don't mind the delay. I’m more concerned over the safety of the police trainees who are being utilized as human dividers, as MetroPost called them last issue.

Detailing these kids as human dividers is risky business. Would you allow your kid to be placed in that position? I often wondered what their parents think of this assignment. I also wondered what their school’s, or the city’s liability would be if, God forbid, they are hurt while doing this job in the name of “training”. But I’m digressing here.

I actually wanted to write about the little wish list that I have compiled as I drive around our once placid Dumaguete. Here goes:

I wish that motorcycle drivers would not drive and text at the same time! Never a day goes by when I don't see one of these morons. Not that it’s any of my business but I cant help becoming worried that they might end up looking like Humpty Dumpty (whom all the king’s men and horses couldn’t put together again) after they have smashed themselves into a post or something, or worse, cause injury on someone else for no other reason than sheer stupidity on their part;

I wish that gasoline stations would be stricter when it comes to implementing their “no smoking/no cell phones” policy while vehicles are being filled up. I’d hate to be in the car that’s next in the line if some mishap would occur;

I wish that teachers (particularly of public elementary schools) would teach their pupils how much wiser it is to walk left. We all drive on the right side of the street, right? Then pedestrians, especially schoolchildren, should walk on the left side. This would enable them to see oncoming traffic. Walking on the right side means that they would have their backs turned on traffic and therefore unable to see any daredevil on wheels who might be speeding towards them;

And not only do I wish that people would walk left, I’d like to add this little gem: I wish they they’d wear light colored clothes or shirts if they have to walk along darkened streets and highways! People in dark clothes are very difficult to spot at night. And what makes this doubly hard for us drivers is when we are temporarily blinded by the lights of oncoming cars. I’m sure that not a few of us have had the fright of our lives when we belatedly realized, after getting blinded, that there was a person casually sauntering along the roadside. After doing what we had to do in such situations, we drove on, albeit with cold sweat breaking out, pounding hearts, and a little trembling here and there. And what about our pedestrian? He merrily goes his way, blissfully unaware that he just missed meeting his Maker at an earlier date.

(To be continued.)