FAREWELL
CEREMONY
(Publication Date: 16 February 2007)
They were passing me,
and I was stunned...
For a moment I wondered:
Who is the traffic monster?
I asked myself.
A short while later,
my shock passed.
I had found
the traffic monster.
***
The same scene takes place
every day in our home.
While I get ready to go
to work, my wife is busy with the housework.
Then I move toward the
door and look in the mirror to check how I look.
My wife comes over and
straightens my tie, even if it is already straight.
I open the door, and just
as I am about to leave, we embrace.
A sadness appears on her
face.
There is tension on mine...
Then we ask each other's
forgiveness and say goodbye.
She waits for me on the
balcony until I get into the car.
As I start the car and
drive out of the garage, we look into each other's eyes one last time.
And as I drive away from
the house, I press my car horn; its mournful honking is a sign that I am driving away.
Why this ceremony?
Is it because my wife and
I love each other so much, and are parting, even if only for a short while?
Of course we love each
other, but we do not exaggerate our farewells that much.
There is a reason for
this whole farewell ceremony, and it has hidden meanings!
*
First, let me explain
the reason for this farewell ceremony; then I will reveal its meanings.
The other day, I left home
again and was on my way to work.
I passed the traffic lights
in the industrial area and was continuing toward Famagusta when an image in my rearview mirror shocked me!
I suddenly looked at the
speedometer in front of me, and my shock turned to disbelief.
Because I was driving at
90 km per hour, and three dump trucks behind me were flashing their headlights at me.
I did not know what to do.
I was still stunned, and
reluctantly changed lanes, signaling left; if I had not changed lanes, it would have been all too easy for the trucks to run me over.
Three trucks were whizzing
past me as I watched in astonishment.
Either they were racing,
or, buoyed by the relief of having unloaded their cargo, the trucks (not the drivers(!)) had gone crazy.
As they passed me,
I thought:
If I had not noticed them,
those trucks gone mad would certainly have crushed me right there.
So the thing called the
"traffic monster" must be the trucks tearing around the roads, elated because they have unloaded their cargo.
Of course, it must be them;
could the people driving the cars be monsters?
Are they the only ones?
Of course not.
For example, don't ordinary
cars stuck in traffic, able to move just 10 meters a minute (not the drivers(!)), go crazy like this when they find an open road?
And don't vehicles driven
by someone under the influence of alcohol go berserk on the roads?
These must be the vehicles
being talked about as the "traffic monster"(!).
*
Now let's return to the
hidden meanings of the ceremony we go through when I leave home: "While I get ready to go to work, my wife is busy with the housework." Meaning: She is trying to forget the sadness of sending me out onto our roads, which have become a battlefield.
"Then I move toward the
door and look in the mirror to check how I look." Meaning: If I fall victim to a traffic accident, I want to look handsome.
"My wife comes over and
straightens my tie, even if it is already straight." Meaning: Before I head out onto our battlefield roads, she does one last thing for me.
"I open the door, and just
as I am about to leave, we embrace." Meaning: It may be our last embrace.
"A sadness appears on her
face." Meaning: Perhaps she cannot hide her sadness because she thinks I may be leaving home for the last time.
"There is tension on mine..."
Meaning: Thinking about which pervert-maniac I might encounter in traffic today makes me tense.
"Then we ask each other's
forgiveness and say goodbye." Meaning: The last farewell.
"She waits for me on the
balcony until I get into the car." Meaning: So she can see me one last time, even from afar.
"As I start the car and
drive out of the garage, we look into each other's eyes one last time." Meaning: Our last time looking into each other's eyes.
"And as I drive away from
the house, I press my car horn; its mournful honking is a sign that I am driving away." Meaning: As I head out onto our battlefield roads, the horn I sound is my war trumpet.
*
It is very sad to be in
this state of mind before heading out onto our roads, where we lose more lives than in a small-scale war.
For years, we have been
looking for the traffic monster.
But the monsters are us.
For quite some time now,
I have ended my articles by saying, “Let’s be respectful in traffic.”
Because I believe that
the only way to prevent traffic accidents is to respect people's right to live on the roads we all use together.
See you on Monday...(Meaning: We will see each other if we can respect each other in traffic, myself included—that is, if we survive and stay alive.)
Be respectful in traffic!
All the texts and other content on this page are original and belong to Cem KAR. They may not be used, even in part, in any way in print or any other electronic medium (CD, Internet, etc.) without permission.