When I drive around Houston now I reflect on how much different it was in 1975-76.

Where there are freeways and toll roads everywhere, back then you used a lot of 2 lane roads to get around.

We were living over in the Alief area of southwest Houston and traveled Highway 6 a lot. There was intersection at Richmond Rd. or Westhiemer Rd. where traffic would back up for a half mile and take 30 minutes to get through.

One Friday afternoon Madeline, the baby and I were leaving Houston to spend the weekend at Marble Falls. We had been setting in traffic for what felt like forever.

I looked up in my mirror and saw this guy flying down the right side edge of the road to pass like several other impatient drivers had done, then cut in front of the line at the stop sign. There wasn’t even a shoulder, he was on grass.

I waited until he was just a few car lengths back and cut my wheels to the right and just lunged the car forward just enough to make him think I was going to do what he was doing.

I guess it scared him enough that he jerked the steering wheel and went straight across the ditch, through the barbed wire fence and stop a pretty good ways out in the field.

Madeline said “why did you do that”?

When I told her I was just teaching him a lesson about butting in line. I guess that wasn’t a sufficient enough answer. Those were the last five words I heard her utter for the entire trip and the rest of the night.

I bet the old boy thought twice the next time he did that.