Our reputation proceeds us

Twice in the last 24 hours I witnessed a site that perpetuates the woman driver stereotype.  A moving vehicle with the hatch to the gas tank ajar, and in one instance, the gas cap was tangling from the car.  And of course, the first thing I thought to do was check the sex of the driver... female, of course.  What takes the cake is the siting this morning, where not only was the hatch ajar, but the child in the back seat was clearly not wearing a seat belt.  These women give us a bad a name, but I wonder... is it our own fault?  My theory, due to my recent experiences, is that we are so distracted by our day to day goings-on, that we can't be bothered by such mundane things as that hatch, or gas cap, or totally ridiculous and overreactive seat belts.  Actually, I'm almost embarrassed to admit that recently I drove away from the pump completely before realizing I forgot to tell the machine that NO, I do not want a receipt!  So what do I do?  Throw the car into reverse, back up to the pump, and complete my transaction.  At least I was mindful enough to return the gas tank to its proper capped and closed position.  There was another occasion, the weekend before last, where I found myself in the same quandary, but this time I couldn't be bothered to throw the car into reverse... I was late to brunch.  A girl has her priorities.  So what is preoccupying us all?  My personal theory is the additional burden that all members of the female population bear because the men in our lives are incompetent... physically, mentally, emotionally, any combination thereof.  We are bearing more than our fair share of responsibilities with no offering of assistance.  Take me for example, I've got my job, my home, my three-ring circus of pets that I am just about comfortable handling on my own, but now I've got this completely draining relationship that I'm single-handedly sustaining.  All I left at the pump was a useless piece of paper.  Think of these women that are managing all of this plus a gaggle of children.  So, the next time you see a car cruising around with an open gas tank, don't judge!  Unless, that car belongs to me... especially, if it looks anything like this one.  In that case, pull me over and have me committed because that means the guy has driven me to insanity!