it sucks
it’s been almost a year since i moved to philadelphia and there has been one thing that has legitimately annoyed me since coming here. i consider myself a pretty easy going and conscientious individual; i hold the door for people behind me, i wash and wax my car every day, i tell people i regularly contribute to numerous meaningful charities. but the traffic lights in this city are awful. they are timed in such a way that you will never hit to consecutive green lights. if you hit one green, the next one will invariably be red. if you are sitting at a red light, you will see that the next one in front of you is green, and only when that one turns red will yours turn green. sitting at a light in philadelphia is depressing. what compounds this problem is that the drivers are terrible. i have some experience driving in nyc, new jersey, and boston, and i think philadelphia drivers are the worst. they just don’t make sense. they will wave you in and then not let you go. they will honk at you for no reason. drivers you let in will not return the favor. they will sit on the phone at a green light and then go when it turns red. today i think was the first time that someone who i waved into my lane gave me a thank you. philadelphia certainly has its charm but i think when you drive through the city you see one the city’s shortcomings wield its ugly head. there was a reason will smith’s mother looked so ugly on the opening credits of fresh prince. she was a symbol for the city’s ugly driving conditions. and those thugs on the basketball court represent the thug-like temperament of philadelphia drivers. then will’s uncle ends up being named phil. being that he is the grouch of the family, it is obvious what is implied.
