by Violet Rebecca Jones
Back to My Old Stomping Grounds
I visited a dear friend a few days ago, and the experience was good in so many ways. She now lives in +Rock Hill, SC close to where I used to live, and the home of +Winthrop University where attended graduate school . It was a long drive for me, but each mile brought both surprises and memories. Surprises because so much has changed. It has been several years since I visited the area, and the new housing developments, shopping centers, arenas, and highway construction made everything look different from when I was last there. All the old landmarks were gone, and I kept getting confused. While not actually lost, I did take a few wrong turns and had to backtrack several times. But hey, rambling is in my blood! However, this time, those little wrong turns ended up being rather scary.
Maniac Seniors
As I was entering the Rock Hill area, I took one of these wrong turns and ended up on an access road to +Lake Wylie. When I saw the sign saying "pavement ends", I knew I was in the wrong place, and apparently at the wrong time as well. I tried to turn around, but a car came from the direction of the lake on the dirt road. There was an elderly man in the passenger seat, and the car was driven by a woman with bleached blond hair. They blocked my entry onto the road, and although I had no desire to travel on that "road", actually more like a trail, they must have thought I did because they would not provide me enough room to even turn around. After finally maneuvering my car so that I could turn and backtrack, the couple pulled out very fast and got in front of me. They moved at approximately 25 miles per hour, and they were in the middle of the road straddling the yellow line. The only time they moved over to the right was when they met an oncoming car. I was already running late to my friend's house who was waiting for me so we could go out to dinner. Every time I tried to pass this strange couple, they would again move to the center and block me. Finally I saw an opening when they miraculously moved somewhat to the right. I speeded up and went around. Yes, I went fast because I really wanted to get around these people. Well, I am not sure if me passing them incited road rage, or if they were already enraged, but I was now in for the chase of my life. They suddenly speeded up, too. They never left my bumper! I began to get a little worried about this pursuit of me, so I speeded up, yet again. At one point, I was actually going 70 miles per hour, but this couple never left me. They had gone from the "pokey old folks" to "greased lightening".
Not only that, but when I reached the end of the highway and had to turn left, they pulled alongside me and began blowing their horn, beating on the side of their car, and the bleached blond got out of her car yelling and shaking something at me. I didn't dare look at them, but my friend was on the phone with me at this point...wanting to know where I was....and she could hear the woman blowing the horn, yelling, etc. They again followed me when I turned. However, I tricked them....you can't outwit a Southern Girl! I allowed them to get into the far right lane in heavy traffic while I quickly shifted to the far left turn lane and turned down a side lane until I knew they were far gone. Only then did I dare go to my friend's place, and believe me when I said I looked in my side- and rear-view mirrors as much as I did at the road in front of me. I am not ashamed to say I was a little unnerved by this experience. Later when a family member asked me if the woman could possibly have been waving a gun, I became even more unnerved. That possibility had actually never occurred to me. My friend in Rock Hill gave me a possible reason why this couple could have been agitated. Apparently there have been some reports of people growing Marijuana on these trails and back roads leading to the lake, and pot is not legal in South Carolina. I was driving a black car, so maybe they thought I was an authority ( you know, the "Men in Black" mentality). Either way, I will be very careful whenever I am in that area again, and I will watch out for the "maniac seniors".
Back to My Old Stomping Grounds
I visited a dear friend a few days ago, and the experience was good in so many ways. She now lives in +Rock Hill, SC close to where I used to live, and the home of +Winthrop University where attended graduate school . It was a long drive for me, but each mile brought both surprises and memories. Surprises because so much has changed. It has been several years since I visited the area, and the new housing developments, shopping centers, arenas, and highway construction made everything look different from when I was last there. All the old landmarks were gone, and I kept getting confused. While not actually lost, I did take a few wrong turns and had to backtrack several times. But hey, rambling is in my blood! However, this time, those little wrong turns ended up being rather scary.
Maniac Seniors
As I was entering the Rock Hill area, I took one of these wrong turns and ended up on an access road to +Lake Wylie. When I saw the sign saying "pavement ends", I knew I was in the wrong place, and apparently at the wrong time as well. I tried to turn around, but a car came from the direction of the lake on the dirt road. There was an elderly man in the passenger seat, and the car was driven by a woman with bleached blond hair. They blocked my entry onto the road, and although I had no desire to travel on that "road", actually more like a trail, they must have thought I did because they would not provide me enough room to even turn around. After finally maneuvering my car so that I could turn and backtrack, the couple pulled out very fast and got in front of me. They moved at approximately 25 miles per hour, and they were in the middle of the road straddling the yellow line. The only time they moved over to the right was when they met an oncoming car. I was already running late to my friend's house who was waiting for me so we could go out to dinner. Every time I tried to pass this strange couple, they would again move to the center and block me. Finally I saw an opening when they miraculously moved somewhat to the right. I speeded up and went around. Yes, I went fast because I really wanted to get around these people. Well, I am not sure if me passing them incited road rage, or if they were already enraged, but I was now in for the chase of my life. They suddenly speeded up, too. They never left my bumper! I began to get a little worried about this pursuit of me, so I speeded up, yet again. At one point, I was actually going 70 miles per hour, but this couple never left me. They had gone from the "pokey old folks" to "greased lightening".
Not only that, but when I reached the end of the highway and had to turn left, they pulled alongside me and began blowing their horn, beating on the side of their car, and the bleached blond got out of her car yelling and shaking something at me. I didn't dare look at them, but my friend was on the phone with me at this point...wanting to know where I was....and she could hear the woman blowing the horn, yelling, etc. They again followed me when I turned. However, I tricked them....you can't outwit a Southern Girl! I allowed them to get into the far right lane in heavy traffic while I quickly shifted to the far left turn lane and turned down a side lane until I knew they were far gone. Only then did I dare go to my friend's place, and believe me when I said I looked in my side- and rear-view mirrors as much as I did at the road in front of me. I am not ashamed to say I was a little unnerved by this experience. Later when a family member asked me if the woman could possibly have been waving a gun, I became even more unnerved. That possibility had actually never occurred to me. My friend in Rock Hill gave me a possible reason why this couple could have been agitated. Apparently there have been some reports of people growing Marijuana on these trails and back roads leading to the lake, and pot is not legal in South Carolina. I was driving a black car, so maybe they thought I was an authority ( you know, the "Men in Black" mentality). Either way, I will be very careful whenever I am in that area again, and I will watch out for the "maniac seniors".
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