Traffic Jam
I took I-76 (PA Turnpike) back to Pittsburgh.
I was coming up to a rest area and considered stopping to go to the bathroom; but, then decided I didn't have to go that bad and could hold it for another 20 miles until the next rest area. A few miles later, I got stuck in a traffic jam.
Did you ever read those Worst Case Scenarios? Like, how would you escape from your car if you accidentally drove it into a lake...that kind of thing? This was my Worst Case Scenario:
An hour-long traffic jam. The kind where everyone first puts their cars in park. Then they turn off their engines. Then they get out of their cars and ask people around them if they know what's going on. Forty-five minutes later, I had to pee really bad. You know when it's getting really bad? When you start eyeing the bushes at the side of the road. It got to the point where I was systematically planning it out.
McDonald's napkins in the glovebox? Check. I'll have to hop the fence to get to the bushes. That will be easy, unless the fence is electric, in which case I could climb over the wooden post. I'll need a boost though. I could ask the girl in the car in front of me. That would be awkward though, but she'd probably do it, because what's she gonna say? No, I'm too busy? I don't know how I'll get back over it though, and the traffic might start moving...
I decided to hold on and do something to take my mind off it. So, I did what any normal person does when they're stuck in traffic. I got out of the car and started taking pictures.
Then I met a truck driver named Pikyeer (I'm spelling it like it sounded). He's from Bosnia. He asked me if I knew where Bosnia is and I said yes. That's true, I do know. Then, he asked me if I knew about the pyramid they found in Bosnia and I said yes. That was a total lie, and I think he knew it, but I tried to bluff my way through it anyway. He said it's older than all three pyramids in Egypt. I said something like, "Yeah, and since it's older, archeologists will probably discover things about ancient civilization that we never knew before." I know that was lame, but all I had to work with was that scrap he threw me about it being older than the Egyptian pyramids. Then after he talked about it more, I realized he might have said taller, not older. I should have said right up front that I didn't know a damn thing about it. But he was cute and had that cool accent. I didn't want to give the impression that I didn't know anything about his country...even if I didn't. I've been reading about the pyramid (actually pyramids) now, and it is interesting because of all the controversy surrounding it.
I took a picture of Cute Bosnian Guy and he asked me to email it to him. But, when he was in his truck writing his addy down, the trucker behind me gave me the signal that traffic was moving. I felt bad that I couldn't email him the photo, but I felt great about not having to pee in the bushes. So, if he happens to find his way to my blog, here's the photo:
