Minnesota Traffic...

I know most folks think we Minnesotans live out in the country, amongst trees and lakes. I really think a lot of people think we are rural dwellers, who don't get out much unless it's to go to the cabin up at the lake. I think that a great deal of people believe that we don't have traffic snarls and snags that major metropolitan areas are known for. For a lot of us...that is true...we don't have to sit in our cars, listening to traffic reports telling us how crappy the congestion is. For others of us...we have arrived. Now we're listed as having some of the worst traffic problems in the nation. The land of 10,000 lakes, home to folks like Sven, Ole, and Lena, tractors in the toolies with manure spreaders, and Minnesota nice on the roads, is now growing into kingdom of road construction, endless delays, and road rage.

I grew up in a small town here. We were brought up to be unassuming "you firsters." Moms taught their kids to be polite, and even if you have the "right of way", give it up, because ...we're not that kind of folks. Confrontation was not the realm of most rural Minnesotans. We were more apt to let you go first and then whisper, "Well who does that fella think he is anyway?" Our attacks were always after the fact and when you weren't there to punch us back in the noses. There were no confrontations, but nasty looks, clucking of tongues, or long sighs. That was it...

Hey, that was then...But this is now. Last week a teenager was killed as a result of road rage here in the Twin Cities. It's really beginning to bother me. When we came back to the states in 02, I thought that I wouldn't be dealing with traffic to this degree again...I was wrong.

I lived in Seoul on and off over a 12 year period for a total of about seven years. The traffic in that city was unbelievable. There were days that drivers would be in their cars for hours on end, going just short distances. Seoulites are passionate and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Many times I saw two motorists taking a few swings at each other following a fender bender. I even witnessed a cab driver climb onto a bus and kick the coin counter on The best thing you could do was take public transportation. The subway was awesome and you could always get somewhere on time if you wished to. Buses did weave in and out of traffic at great speed. I was told that drivers were paid according to how many times they made it through their routes during their workdays. Buses were truly an adventure. There were times when I would take a cab and sometimes that was a mistake. I would sit, twiddling my thumbs...waiting...waiting...waiting...

Then again, cabs in Manila are just as bad OR WORSE. I can recall taking cabs for just short distances in Makati when it took between 45 minutes and one hour. I think everyone has been in traffic jams in Manila, where the traffic is at a standstill and vendors traverse between the cars plying their wares. But it seems like in traffic like that, most Filipinos just accept it and just wait it out and just relax.

I've been taking a commuter bus into my work. The school that I work at is in downtown Minneapolis. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to the park and ride that takes me downtown. One of the problems that I'm running into now is that the road from my subdivsion that leads to the highway to the park and ride is congested every morning. Since it's the only way onto the highway from our subdivsion and neighboring subdivisions, everybody has the same problem. Sometimes it takes me 15-20 minutes just to move 1/2 a mile...That's the 1/2 mile I need to get to Hwy 169. Arghhhhhh....

But...it's about to change. We will be getting a new commuter bus service that has a major stop about a1/2 mile from our home. I'm worried that everyone else will be jumping on that bus at the same time I will be...So...will I be going from a farther park and ride to one right next door. But...with everyone else on the bus...will I be the victim of BUS RAGE??? Only time will tell.