I figured the guy had been honking at the car behind me until, twenty or so miles later, another trucker honked. And about fifty miles after that, as the Volvo and I whizzed through a tunnel, a third and final truck sounded a chirpy pair of beeps. I still have no definitive answers for all this commotion. My theories, though, are:

a) I am a young lady who was wearing short shorts and a tank top that day. All three truckers noticed this and felt a need to comment. This theory can be discounted because the third trucker could not have seen my attire in the dark tunnel.

b) None of the truckers were honking at me. Again, the third trucker throws this theory off, because the lack of cars in the tunnel combined with the timing of the horn just as I passed #3 indicates that the honking was directed specifically at me.

c) The first trucker told the other two to honk when they saw the Volvo with the big blue stripe down the middle. Or, perhaps each trucker chose individually to applaud my striped car.

Even if the original motive of Trucker #1 was unsavory, my point is that my car is striped and they either thought it was rad or used it as an identifying characteristic in their wily chain-honking games.

next: Memorial Day weekend in the parking lot