HONK

Honk is a four letter word.


I don't know what it is about drivers some days, but yesterday there seemed to be an awful lot of angry drivers who were honking their horns at each other.  I don't usually hear car horns when I drive (not that I drive that much or that far), and when I do they're typically because someone is acting like an idiot.  That was certainly the case for several of the toots I heard, but not all of them.  I usually am more interested in using my hands to control the steering wheel and get away from the idiots than issue the equivalent of a shout in their direction.

New York City appears to be getting a taxi horn makeover as well.  With the "Taxi of Tomorrow" program that was recently announced, two of the requirements directly relate to the car horns for the taxi.  The first is that the horn must be a "low-annoyance horn", and second that there be a visual indicator when the horn was used so police can more easily enforce an ordinance against inappropriate use of the horn.  The New York Times has some more information about horns in various taxis, not to mention some interesting trivia about Paris taxis and George Gershwin.

But forget the bad drivers and the taxis.  What do I really think of when I hear a honk?  How silly my 2-year-old is when he pokes my nose and goes "honk".  Thats music to my ears.