The Tram Man

I got yelled at by a driver of some kind of public conveyance today, in kind of a typical New City low-key polite way.  In the Old City I would have been enduring obscenities and fending off spittle, worried about gunplay, so I was glad for the change of venue.  I was driving my car in the downtown area which has a confusing array of transportation choices: buses, light rail, and these trolley subway above ground things, all moving in and out of the stream of pedestrians and bicyclists.  Apparently, I did something wrong.  Honestly, I'm not sure what it was.  I'm still trying to figure out the rules.


"Can I drive in this lane with these tracks?" I asked SuperK, earlier in the day.
"I don't know," she replied.  "What are these tracks for, anyway?  The trains or those little cars?"
"That guy's driving on them," I pointed out.  "I'm going to get in front of that electric thing before it starts moving again."
"No, no, I don't think you can do that," SuperK said.


Anyway, at the next light the driver of the electric thing was gesturing at me.  My window was down.  His wasn't.
"What?" I asked.
He started talking and gesticulating.
"I can't hear you," I said helpfully, pointing out the obvious.


He put the tram in park and opened the passenger window.
"I was wondering if you had turn signals?"
"I'm sorry," I said.  "I'm new to the area and it's a little confusing down here."  The train and tram tracks weave across the driving lanes so I wasn't sure what the %$!! lane I should be following and I'm unfamiliar with the intersections and I'm gawking at all the newness to boot.


I really was sorry, even though I didn't know what I had done to piss this guy off.  In my drinking days I always knew what I had done to piss everyone off, which I was doing all the time, on purpose.  Someone actually had to point out to me that the horn installed on my car was a warning device, not something for I could use to scream at other motorists.


"I was just wondering if turn signals were an option on your car," he said.  


Really, that's pretty funny.  God knows how many jackasses he has to deal with driving a large vehicle in a congested urban area all day.  If I'm going to get yelled out that's not too bad.


I wonder what I did.  Something to do with turn signals, I guess.