Passenger Side Rage

The Professor's post reminded me that I was going to post something about commuting....... Commuting is the only kind of riding I've been doing lately. I was going to post something about the increased number of bike commuters I've seen on the road this summer. Then I was going to say something about the increase in courtesy I've seen from drivers. When I first started commuting about a year and a half ago, I could usually count on a horn, a finger, a "SIDEWALK A-HOLE!" or a combination of the three on every other ride. However, I'm pretty sure I've gone about 2-3 months without any angry gestures directed at me (excluding my wife). That is, until yesterday's commute. Just when my faith in the good people of Omaha was being restored, a white contractor's van full of anger buzzed my head around 72nd and Blondo.
I was reading a post on another bike blog a while back that made the observation that if you're going to get yelled at, it's always from somebody in a truck. I've found that to be about 75% true, but what's been 100% true for me is that if I'm going to be yelled at, there's always two people in the car/truck/van. I guess the extra body in the vehicle makes people feel a little more bold. Plus, I get the impression that they're trying to show of for their buddy. I don't know if that was the case for this guy in the white contractors van or if he just had really low self-esteem and rage issues. Whatever it was, he let it all out at once as he passed. I couldn't tell exactly what he was saying as he hung out the passenger side window (I had my headphones in), but it appeared that he said something to the effect of:
"I'M SHAKING MY FIST AT YOU IN ORDER TO VISUALLY SHOW HOW UPSET I AM ABOUT THE SLIGHT INCONVENIENCE YOUR PRESENCE ON THE ROAD HAS CAUSED ME AND MY FRIEND!!!!!!"
I responded with my usual friendly wave, but in this case instead of diffusing the situation, it made him even more belligerent. Going up the next hill, the van slowed down so that he could hang half way out the window and give me the bird while shouting:
"MY WIFE AND KIDS HATE ME BECAUSE OF MY EXPLOSIVE ANGER...BUT IT'S HARD TO LOVE MYSELF WHEN MY FATHER NEVER LOVED ME!!!!" (my headphones were still in)
Again, I just waved. I assumed he would drive off and I would never see him again, other than perhaps his mugshot on the news. However, as we got to the bottom of the hill, he pulled into the left turn lane as I went through the intersection. As I passed, I gave a "What was that?" gesture to him. Again this might have been a mistake. I'm pretty sure he thought I was taunting him. This prompted him to get out of the van and stand in the street and continue screaming as I road up the next hill. I'm pretty sure he said something about his wife having hamburger helper in the oven if I wanted to stop over for a bite. I was in a hurry to get home so I kept rolling.
I notice the same cars passing me on a daily basis. There's a very good chance I'll run into Mr. Sunshine again. In the meantime, I hope he gets a chance to read this blog entry from Lincoln's police chief. In fact it would be awesome the entire city of Omaha could read it......... Probably not though, I guess I'll just keep hugging the curb and making new friends.