racism and road rage

I was driving to lunch with a co-worker the other day when, out of nowhere, she looks at me and says, "you really should slow down because you might hit some black guys."

Not really sure where she was going with this, I asked, "what are you talking about? I think I would see them before I would end up running them over."

"Not necessarily," she said. "They can sneak up on you. You can end up running over them before you even realize that it happened."

"Look," I told her, "they aren't going to suddenly materialize out of nowhere. Since when does that happen? Believe me, if they're in the middle of the street, I'm going to stop before I run them over."

"I'm just saying, you have to be careful. Just last week I ran into some while driving down the road. I didn't even realize it until it was too late. Luckily, I was fine."

"Now wait, you mean to tell me that you ran them over and just kept on going? You didn't stop? Didn't see if they were all right? And how in the world didn't you see them in the first place?"

"They blend right in with the road," she told me. "People hit them all the time, that's why you have to be careful. You act as if you have Superman vision or something, geez!"

"Look, if there are a bunch of black guys standing in the street, I'm going to stop and not run them over. Call it Superman vision if you want, but I'm quite positive that I can distinguish between them and the road. I can't believe that you're actually sitting here telling me that you ran some black guys down in your car!"

"Not black guys, you idiot! I said black ICE!"

"Oh, well never mind then." And, for fear of hitting some black ice while driving to lunch, I slowed down and made a mental note that, perhaps, I should listen more closely when my co-workers talk.

But seriously, if they ever had anything important to say, I would listen more closely...so I really don't think that this misunderstanding is all my fault.