Let's take a moment to talk about driving, shall we?

There is nothing in the world quite like driving in Bloomington/Normal. I have heard about the traffic in Britain and France, New York and L.A. I have even witnessed firsthand the freeway nightmares that are Atlanta and Dallas.

But none of that compares to the people of Bloomington/Normal. I have lived in small towns from Canyon, Texas (a small blip on the map about a half hour southwest of Amarillo) to Carbandale, Illinois, the suburbs of Chicago and seen many points in between.

But never have I ever seen a place where, of two people facing each other at a stop sign, did the person turning left be routinely given the right of way!

It is a form of insanity that I have determined from frequent observation of the Bloomington-Normalite stems from either fear on the part of the person moving forward that the person turning will just go no matter who has right of way, or a terminal case of The Nice.

Now, I'm all for being nice. I hold doors for people when entering buildings, I bring my girlfriend a rose on every date. I like doing good deeds for others, and it's not from a selfish place as some cynics might decree. Yes, seeing that others appreciate my good will does me good, but why shouldn't it? It's an exchange of positive energies, and that's a good thing.

Well, I'm getting a bit off-topic here, but my point is clear, I like good deeds as much as the next person.

But when your good deed interrupts the flow of traffic and possibly leads to holding up the five or more people behind you because now the cross-traffic is confused as well, it is no longer a good Samaritan doing a good deed.

People don't seem to consider the consequence of their actions much in Bloomington-Normal. This isn't just in driving but in everyday situations like shopping. I'm sure this happens everywhere but for the numerous people who stop, cart and all in the middle of an aisle when they can see that you are trying to pass, to the traffic monitor who must go the exact speed - sometimes slower - one's actions really shows one's mindset.

There is a flow to life. In Buddhism we learn of it as the eightfold path, there is probably a name for it in every religion and culture. People who do not pay attention to this flow, who are disconnected from the world around them tend to interrupt and disrupt the flow of the world around them.

It's such a shame that a place as nice and beautiful as Bloomington/Normal has so many people who miss or ignore that path and flow. I suppose one could say that they all have their own drummer. But when I observe people who don't seem to take notice of the folks around them, or the repercussions their own actions have on the folks who are around them, alarm bells sound in my head.

And living in this town the last half of my life, the alarm bells have been going off since day one when I made the observation that some people around here are pretty unsophisticated. I was 14 when I first moved to Bloomington-Normal.

It's been a long 15 years here. But I suppose there are worse places I could be. I'm just ready to get back to Chicago, my home sweet home. Where I am sure there will be as many if not more crazy drivers to rail about.