I suppose this could have been written months ago, or be put off until next Tuesday, but I saw a comment in the newspaper today and it just got me to thinking a little.

The comment was regarding a bi-racial child, whose grandparent wasn’t happy with racial designations provided on official paperwork; she stated that usually only “black” or “white” were the proferred choices. I happen to know that’s inaccurate, but that’s not the point.

The individual closed by saying that the granddaughter was neither “black” nor “white”, but a new race, the Obama Race.

Is this a joke? Race is not designated by skin color. How absurd. Race, as defined by Webster’s, is considered “a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock”, or “a class or kind of people”, or even “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits”. Can the term “Obama Race” fall into any of these definitions?

Perhaps, by a stretch. A very long stretch. But race is not determined by one characteristic alone, and a new one can certainly not be created on the whim of an individual. Of course, if bi-racial, or black/white, or whatever term one uses, can be considered a “race”, then it’s certainly been around for a long time. And naming it after someone who is arguably the most famous person in the world at this time is nothing more than a gratuitous stunt.

I did not vote for Obama. His race had nothing to do with it. I consider him too young, too inexperienced, and too naive. Neither am I black or bi-racial.

I understand this individual who commented probably has great pride in Obama’s accomplishment in being elected President of the United States. I understand it, even while something escapes me: to be truly free of racism, something which minority communities frequently accuse whites of being, color or race should be irrelevant.

It’s almost as though I myself should be “proud” if a blond, green-eyed president were elected, simply because he shared a couple of my physical characteristics. Does that make he and I a “race” unto ourselves, even including others with these attributes? I don’t think so.

We’ve been told, since taking drivers’ education classes, that the horn on the vehicle is a “warning device”. What exactly does this mean? Obviously its use is to “warn” others, either pedestrians or drivers, but the question is: warn them of what?

I grew up and learned to drive in St. Louis, consequently I use my horn frequently and sometimes vociferously. Drives my husband nuts, he seems to think that every time I honk at someone they’ll whip out a gun and blow me away. I’ve tried to tell him that, at least here in St. Louis, that is not going to happen; when we lived in Texas, well, it may have been a possibility.

There are many ways to use your horn, and almost all of them involve a “warning”:

A short “toot” can either mean “hey, wake up!” or simply be an acknowledgement of a considerate road gesture, such as letting you into a long line of barely moving traffic.

A longer blast can indicate a cause for celebration, or can mean “hey, you! Yeah, you! The light turned green five minutes ago!”

A moderately-long honk can mean “get outta my way, loser”, or “hey, no one said you had to keep FIVE car lengths between you and another vehicle”.

Of course, any of these types of honks can be accompanied by mouthing other words, or even a simple hand gesture (rude or otherwise).

See, the thing about driving is that most people are completely clueless. It’s not so much that they think they are great drivers (although some of us certainly are!), but that they think driving is a no-brainer activity. And many appear to have no brains, period.

For example, a driver who comes to a screeching halt to allow someone to pull out of a parking lot. That driver believes he is being nice and considerate. What he fails to notice are the thirty-five cars piled up behind him, who all had to slam on their brakes unexpectedly.

These same drivers are often the ones who wander from lane to lane, change lanes in the midst of an intersection, or try to turn right from the left-hand lane.

We’re all taught to drive defensively. “Defensively” does not mean crawl along at a snail’s pace, hitting the brakes anytime you see another car moving. This is the ROAD, cars will move! Just because the traffic light three blocks up turns yellow, doesn’t mean you have to stop right then and there and inch forward till you get there!

My mother has said, pridefully, that she’s never had an accident while driving. I wonder if she ever looked in her rear view mirror to see how many she CAUSED?