Head Rattle

I.
There's something about driving on the New York State Thruway (as I was over this US holiday weekend) that has always puzzled me. Why is it that when you move into the passing lane, the car you are trying to pass will often speed up, so that you can't pass without really stepping on the gas? It's as if the driver is daydreaming and doesn't realize how slow he/she is going, until he/she notices you trying to pass, and then "wakes up" and thinks: "Oh my goodness. I'm only going 55 miles per hour [88 kph]. No wonder he's trying to pass. I better speed up!" I hope that's all it is. That's annoying enough. If it's actually some kind of male competitive thing, that would be infuriating.

II.
Yesterday was Memorial Day in the US, a day to remember and honor the war dead, and also a day when many people tend the graves of their dead relatives at the local cemetery. The one where my father is buried, which is way out in the country, is interesting to me. While we were clipping the grass around the headstone and planting some geraniums, I noted, as I've done before, that the older graves (some from the early 1800s) have slim, simple stones, nearly unreadable now thanks to weathering. The more recent ones get gradually thicker and more elaborate as the death dates move through the Victorian era -- and often feature more overtly religious iconography. The more modern ones are again simpler, more minimalist. I guess there are fashion trends in headstones, like everything else. How soon before they start incorporating videos about the dearly departed? .... I nearly always see something strange when I visit this cemetery. This time it was a huge dog, almost the size of a pony, that some visitor had brought along. He (she?) was sitting in the cab of a pickup truck at first, looking like he was about to drive away. Take a look.