Kyle Banerjee's Blog

Today when I was riding home, some guy in a white van yelled at me to get off the road and tried to scare me by racing the engine as he buzzed me. If you ride bikes very much, that’s just something that happens to you.

I don’t quite understand what makes people do things like this. In this particular instance, I wasn’t slowing anyone down and I was obeying all traffic laws. I sympathize with the fact that people don’t like to be impeded by cyclists, but the reality is that bikes aren’t what’s gumming up the roads. Most drivers think nothing of slowing an entire lane so they can turn left across a busy lane, get into or out of a parking spot, start really slowly after the light turns green, or a number of other things. Besides, I figure that if these vehicles that have one person in them took only quadruple the space I take on the roads, they wouldn’t even need to shift in the lane — they could zip right by without slowing down and a lot more of them would fit on the roads and parking lots.

Recently, a number of stories have been circulating in the news saying that scientists are now labeling road rage as a disorder. Technically, it’s called “Intermittent Explosive Disorder” and people who suffer from it exhibit bouts of rage that are triggered by minor events.

I can accept that some people have screwed up body chemistry that makes them react severely with little provocation. However, I find it interesting how this disorder afflicts Americans so much more often than it affects people in other countries where living conditions are so much more difficult than in the US or even the other parts of the industrialized world that I’ve seen. It is also interesting that the epidemic seems to be getting worse with time.

Nowadays, it seems like people justify the most ridiculous behavior simply by claiming to be victims of their environment and body chemistry. While I think it’s important to be sensitive to these factors, it makes me wonder what makes a person human to begin with. If bad behavior is caused by circumstances rather than free will, it would follow that good things people do also are purely a result of factors beyond anyone’s control.

There are some people with bona fide mental problems, but I suspect that the vast majority of the people who yell at cyclists are simply immature and self centered individuals who think they should be able to fly off the handle just because the world isn’t just the way they want. Normally, I wouldn’t whine since drivers do this to each other all the time. However, I think that anyone who doesn’t have better emotional control than the typical 2 year old has no business guiding a 3500 lb hunk of metal near people at high speeds.

Despite the fact that I’ve lived in Oregon for over 10 years, there are still many parts of the state that I’ve never had a chance to see. However, my parents have been in town for the past week, so I used the occasion as an excuse to take a few days off and visit the Warm Springs Indian Reservation among other places.

I’ll spare you my ruminations about indian reservations. However, I would like to make one observation before continuing with this post. Where I live, people often use the expression “native Oregonian” to refer to a person who was born in Oregon. In common usage, the term implies that the person has more right to be here than those who moved in from other states (especially California) and countries. However, Oregon is a very new state. In fact, it is so new that many people alive today have met individuals who took part in the Indian Wars that displaced the inhabitants of lands that were populated thousands of years before Christ was born or the invention of the wheel for that matter. I’m not suggesting that we try to turn the clock back — historically, solutions that attempt to right perceived wrongs of the past by assigning entitlements or punishments based on genetics or geography have not worked well and in extreme cases have led to devastating wars and genocide. I just find it interesting how often people develop a sense of entitlement based on factors that reflects no effort on their part such as where they were born or who their parents happen to be. However, I’m breaking my promise to not yammer on I’ll get off my soapbox and continue with the post….

If you’ve never been there, Warm Springs is worth the trip. There’s a great museum, casino, and resort, but frankly my favorite part was just hiking in the high desert. Shirley couldn’t come and my folks didn’t feel like taking a long hike in the high desert, so I went by myself. I didn’t see another person the entire time I was out.

When you don’t have to worry about anyone else, it’s much easier to feel your connection with nature. Even the desert is full of life. Insects look for mates and meals. Small mammals and reptiles wait motionless or quietly move away as you approach. The wind rustles things in its path and makes a sound I could never tire of.

By the time I’d climbed a mesa a few miles from where I’d started, it made me remember why I enjoyed camping so much when I was growing up. Shirley doesn’t like camping because you spend a lot of time hungry, roasting, freezing, and/or getting eaten alive by insects. I know there are ways to camp without experiencing those things, but for me it just wouldn’t be the same. I like to camp to get away from my normal creature comforts.

Having said that, I must admit that I really enjoyed taking a nice long soak in a hot mineral bath the day after going on the hike. Aside from the fact that the heat really felt nice on sore muscles, it helped relieve the itching from all the many things that had stuck me as I wandered along my path and climbed the mesa. Next time, I think I’ll wear hiking boots rather than tevas.

Just before 4am yesterday, I returned from a trip to Las Vegas so that I could serve as best man in a wedding. I’m the type of guy that sometimes likes to burn the candle at both ends, but when that alarm went off at 5, I was thinking that maybe lighting the middle as well might not have been the smartest thing to do.

Despite the fatigue factor, I’m glad I went. Weddings may be an industry in Vegas, but these things are what you make of them. There were only 3 people in the wedding party (bride, groom, and myself) but the cermony was as moving as any I’ve seen and the sheer amount of energy in the room was incredible.

While we were having cake and champagne afterwards, the bride commented that she felt as if the wedding had 100 guests in attendance. Curiously enough, I had the same sensation.

Experiences like that help me maintain my faith in humanity. I am under the impression that many people treat marriage like a business transaction. They basically figure out what they want, and if the deal turns out not to be what one or both of them bargained for, they bail. Even if things turn out OK, people wind up feeling unfulfilled.

While I was talking with the bride and groom after the ceremony, all 3 of us agreed that we never would have done the most worthwhile things in our lives had we been told in advance what we’d have to go through to achieve them. The value comes from what people invest in the process, not in the end return.

It’s very possible that this marriage will also work out that way, but given the attitude of the bride and groom, I think they are doomed to succeed. I wish them the very best.