It's Almost Bill Hicks' Birthday, So Here's an Anecdote Posted by Oren Miller on 12/10/2011 8 comments

I was driving my then-three-year-old boy to school, and again, we were going to be late. There are a lot of reasons to be stressful about that morning drive, especially because most of the way I'm driving on a one-lane road, my time of arrival entirely dependent on the cars in front of me. What I didn't need that day, though, was for that one left-turn light to turn red just as I was about to make it.

So I waited. And waited. And then, when the cars on the other side of the road stopped, I got ready, only to realize it still wasn't my turn to go. The two cars on the left had a green light first. Then the junction was empty. Everyone was waiting for that damn light! This was too much.

"Oh, come on!" I said.

My boy moved his head as much as he could, stretching the car-seat belts to their limits, desperately trying to see the road. "What happened?"

"The light!" I said. "It doesn't turn green!"

My boy leaned back in his seat and started playing with the zipper on his coat. "Don't worry," he said. "It will soon."

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So today, a few days after my boy's 4th birthday and before the late Bill Hicks' birthday, I want to thank both for reminding me to stop taking life so damn seriously all the time.