"I don't need anger management, I need people to stop making me mad."

We get a little irritated, don't we?

We've been sitting in the drive-thru, creeping toward the window and wondering how hard is it to wrap a pre-fab hamburger straight from the microwave?

Finally, the guy parked at the window in front of us gets his drink (always a large), then his bag of eats. But instead of quickly pulling away so we can get ours, he takes his time: (A) Carefully placing the drink in a cup-holder to avoid spillage, (B) Counting the change handed back from his purchase, (C) Checking the tension in his seatbelt (D) Reviewing the contents of the bag he just paid for.

We want to shout, "Let's go, Poindexter!"

But I (now) say, "Not so fast."

I say it because twice last week, I got stiffed. One was an order of hot cakes and sausage, that ended up minus the sausage. The other was three hamburgers, but one less, when I got to the house and opened the bag.

If I had checked before pulling away, I might have detected such shortcomings. By the time I got home, it was too late, and certainly not worth the cost in gasoline to drive back to Burger Barn and gripe about grub.

It counts to be patient and it counts to count.

WORD GAMES: What is it that the following words have in common? 

Banana, dresser, grammar, voodoo, uneven, potato, revive. (Answer below)

YOUR TRAVELS: The 3 Dudes and a Truck Tour made it home after a week that included, Billings, Mont.; Mount Rushmore; the Badlands; the Little Bighorn battlefield and a lot of beautiful scenery in between. Tim, Jamie and Stacey say the Dodge Ram 1500 logged 7,380 miles and 19 states across America.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Want to send a picture or postcard from your summer vacation? E-mail to bkirby@augustachronicle.com or mail to 725 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901.

TODAY'S JOKE: Two women were chatting at church, and sharing problems of their home lives.

"It seems," one said, "that all Harold and I do anymore is argue. I've been so upset, I've lost 20 pounds."

"Why don't you just leave him then?" her friend asked.

"Oh, no," the first woman said. "I'd like to lose at least another 10 or 15 pounds."

THE ANSWER: In all the words listed, if you take the first letter, and place it at the end of the word, then spell the result backward, it will be the same word.

Bill Kirby has reported, photographed and commented on life in Augusta and Georgia for 45 years.