A woman cut me off in traffic yesterday. She had her rear-view mirror turned to see herself as she repeatedly flipped her bangs off her forehead with an index finger. Apparently when she first purchased her vehicle she looked at what many of us recognize as a driving aid and thought: "Neat. A hands-free compact."

I cannot understand the handful of women (and men of the same gender) who do this. Is their make-up comprised of some unstable isotope, requiring constant monitoring lest it melt right off their faces? Or are they so stricken with themselves that they cannot bear the existential angst of mind-body separation during the long drive to that job at the department store perfume counter?

And the funny thing is, the people who do this tend not to be very good looking. You'd think they would prefer a mirror-free environment.