Rules of the Road

Your scribe was interested to learn that the Vatican is taking an interest in how we drive. Click on the following link to read the Ten Commandments of the Road:

Thou shalt shun road rage

Actually, this is a commendable effort to get us all to be a little more other-directed in our driving, which is undoubtedly an excellent idea. Curiously enough, your scribe has never thought of the automobile as "an occasion for sin", such as (according to the article) when transporting prostitutes, but hey - why not? He has seen enough Greenwich matrons using language that would make a sailor blush while piloting their SUVs around Town; and even though they are not transporting prostitutes, but their own young children, it's pretty clear that one is watching an occasion for sin unfold before one's very eyes. Let us hope that the priests in the confessional will remember to ask about their flock's driving habits in addition to whatever other erring and straying they may have done in the past week.

Here's a picture of what can happen to those who do not follow the Vatican's rules:




The Toyota SUV is attempting to devour the Toyota sedan. Ironically, this act of automotive cannibalism is occuring in front of the Toyota dealership. Click on the picture to enlarge it for all the gory metallic details. As far as your scribe knows, no one was injured in this melee, but it is clear that someone or other zigged when they should have zagged.

With that, your scribe is off to check out the scene on Greenwich Avenue, where, not unlike Bunyan's Vanity Fair, there is constant flux. One store closes, and another opens. A restaurant folds, and another starry-eyed hopeful takes its place. The half-life of an establishment on the Avenue seems to be getting shorter year by year, as the old-time family-owned stores diminish, and the trendy but rootless boutiques spring up in their stead. Your scribe almost wishes he could tell these newcomers that the storefront they are so proudly occupying for the moment has not seen a tenant last for more than two years over the past two decades. Some of these locations clearly have bad karma...but one supposes that this is not a subject often taught in the business schools of today. And so they keep coming, with stars in their eyes, only to leave with their tail between their legs. John Bunyan sure knew all there is to know about Greenwich Avenue, even though he died centuries before it became the outdoor shopping mall it is today.