Schadenfreude...

...is listening to a man on a high-speed bike gunning his motor while waiting in tunnel at a red light. Is watching said biker speed up and weave through traffic (dangerous and stupid) so he can make it to the next red light five seconds faster than the other motor vehicles. It is watching his biking companion, sans any protective gear, including helmet (no longer required in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) also dangerously cut off multiple cars to catch up to his buddy.

And it is watching city police in an unmarked car (one of the vehicles biker 2 cut off) turn on their lights and pull both bikers over.

Schadenfreude can be a beautiful thing.

In other news, last night J and I saw the Violent Femmes play for $1.00. It was well worth the price of admission. We got a giggle out of the shock some of the teenagers, dressed in their punk/goth gear, felt when they discovered that the Violent Femmes are a group of middle-aged men. This is akin to the laugh I got several years ago during my incarnation as a teacher when one of my middle school students, in all seriousness, asked me about “that new band” Pearl Jam.

Lisa's recent post on parents who expect the public to worship at the feet of their badly behaving children, struck a sympathetic chord. One of the reasons I hesitate to start a family is that I might act exactly as described in the post. And I really do not want to be that kind of parent. I want to be the kind of parent with enough nerve to hold up a busy check-out line until my badly behaving child apologizes to the clerk because she was rude.*

In addition, I am the infamously stubborn black sheep in-law who refuses to allow her husband's parents to cow her into submitting to a life that includes non-stop in-law interference and family vacations. I've seen far too much interference on the part of a "doting" grandfather to convince me that bringing another child into the family will set me up for many, many years of battles I am not totally prepared to fight.

We have finally gotten to the point where J's extended family no longer overtly pressures us to have children. It is more subtle now, and includes Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts so we "don't feel left out". J's brother, a priest, has been giving me Mother's Day gifts from year one because "I live with his brother and that is work enough" as a joke, and I do find it funny. I don't find it neccessary for anyone else to give me a gift. We suspect they think we are childless by physical circumstances instead of conscious choice. I'm ok with letting them think that, as it takes the overt pressure off both of us.

*True story. The mother would not accept her change back until her daughter apologized to the clerk. I was amazed.