On Wednesday, New Zealand capitulated in their quest for the World Cup, losing 2-0 to Peru after a scoreless first leg. Peru, obviously was ecstatic, declaring the following day a national holiday. New Zealand, on the other hand, has taken the loss pretty hard, if this alarming item from the New Zealand Herald is any indication:
In perhaps the most definitively Dunedin of traffic offences, a male motorist was let off with a warning yesterday morning after playing his bagpipes while driving a car.
Acting Sergeant Bryce Johnson, of Dunedin, said the man was pulled over in Crawford St during a checkpoint playing a chanter, the finger-holed, recorder-like section of the instrument for making a melody.
''The driver didn't have their hands on the wheel at the time, and he was clearly playing the instrument while driving the car.''
I know, it's crazy. Bagpipes are traditionally associated with Scotland! What are they doing way down there in New Zealand?
Bagpipes are perhaps the saddest of all intruments, often played at funerals and other solemn occasions. Anyone playing the bagpipes while driving a car must be going through some stuff, and the obvious culprit is New Zealand's failure to qualify fot the World Cup.
But hey, the USA didn't make the World Cup either, so I guess it's time to dust off the ol' bagpipes and go for a long, soul-searching drive.