Oops

This afternoon my wife and I went for a run in a nature park south of Amman, near the airport. On the drive back a giant black SUV roared up on me from behind, going well above the speed limit, flashing his lights because he wanted me to get out of his way. I was in the left lane, but we were within the city limits and their was plenty of traffic in both lanes. This is ridiculous, I thought. I wasn't about to yield the road so this guy could move one place forward. In West Amman it's common to see rich people barreling around in their giant luxury SUVs, acting like they're better than everybody else. I have no patience for that.

The guy closed within two or three feet of me, swerved left and right in the lane, and flashed his lights like crazy. Two guys in suits were in the car, which suggested they were somewhat official, but by this point I was angry. I don't care who you are, I thought. You don't own the road. After a minute, though, it was getting too dangerous so I finally moved over. I was so angry by this point that I did something totally out of character: I flipped the guy off as he raced by.

The SUV was so large that I never saw what was behind him until he screamed past: several more identical black SUVs. One had police lights. The cars looked a little too familiar. I'm pretty sure I flipped off an American diplomatic convoy transporting a distinguished visitor from the airport.

So my apologies to the Men in Black, but in my defense, you drive like it's 2005 in Baghdad.