Shame is underappreciated

Kathleen Parker's Aug. 24 column about sharing an elevator with crude vulgarians struck a chord with me. However, my close encounters with boors seem to happen when I'm driving.

On Aug. 21, I was driving on Highway 965 and overtook an unhelmeted motorcyclist. He accelerated as I passed, but I squeezed in between him and the next vehicle in front. He gave me the single-finger salute, then passed me and the vehicle in front. I briefly clocked him at 70 mph.

A couple of weeks before that, I encountered a similar setup: a red minivan following the vehicle in front. I could not pass both vehicles, so settled for the minivan. As I sidled back into the lane, I could read the woman's lips, screaming an oath Patton used. She followed that up with the oath to which Parker was treated. Two very classy individuals, indeed.

I have been fingered before while passing on 965. I had a young man, screaming, waving a Maglite out the driver's window, ride my bumper on I-380 simply because I flashed my brights to ask him to relinquish the left lane.

Shame is underappreciated in this country. My hope is the people I described above somehow recognize their dangerous, selfish behavior, feel deep remorse, then change.

Jeff Klinzman

Coralville