Nobody says it better

This is a tale of how my badcarma not only spread to another driver, but how another passenger unwittingly aided in its spread.

I was, as per my usual MO, minding my own business. The driver, we'll call him Law Dog, was cartng me and another passenger, we'll call him The Member, on a five hour journey along some of the most crowded freeways in the country.

Perhaps it was because I'd traveled with Law Dog at the wheel for many, many years, certainly more often than The Member, or perhaps it was because I was so used to my own angry rantings while in the driver's seat, but either way, Member pointed out something on that drive I'd never noticed. And it produced a profound change in Law Dog.

As I mentioned, it was crowded. And it's practically a law of physics that the more crowded a freeway is, the more complete a-holes are on it. Such was the case this day.

Law Dog's response was to drive aggresively and when needed let out an exasperated, "COCKSUCKER!" as another motorist who'd violated his space.

So, along we went. Hard brake, speeding around stalled cars, swerving to avoid inattentive lane changers with a "COCKSUCKER!" here and a "COCKSUCKER!" there.

About three hours into the trip, The Member turns to Law Dog and says, "You know, I've never heard anyone say 'cocksucker' as well as you do. It's like a pistol shot from you. An art form. You've elevated the word 'cocksucker' into a kindof purity I've never heard before." Etc. Etc. (If you know The Member, you know I'm not making this up. He can go on, and does, quite frequently. Oh, remind me to tell you sometime of his recent "adventure" on public transportation.)

Anyhow... Member went on about it for a while until we were all saying "COCKSUCKER!" in an attempt to imitate Law Dog, with minimal success. It was a jovial trip. Or so I thought.

The Member took a different car home so it was just me and Law Dog. He was uncharacteristically quiet and calm even through all the traffic, and there were plenty of cocksuckers, let me tell you. But not a single "COCKSUCKER!" escaped his lips.

I asked him why.

He said he never knew he said it so much until The Member pointed it out. Now, he decided, it was a bad habit. And he refused to be held hostage by a bad habit.

Law Dog vowed never to spew "COCKSUCKER!" at fellow travelers again. And he hasn't, not in all these years.

It was a true case of badcarma, no doubt.