.....I am a slow mover. Ask anyone who knows me…first thing they’ll say—“Yep, that Susan is a slow mover.” My natural gait is one of leisure. I like to take my time. Except when I’m driving. Then, the rules are relatively simple: Get out of my way.
The car is a great equalizer. We’re nothing more than a head and shoulders to our fellow drivers (if we’re lucky, that is: my 90 year old aunt--yes,still driving--is just a pair of tiny claws on the wheel). Agility and grace exist only in our vehicular dexterity. I, the slow mover, can keep up with the best of them by simply putting a wee bit more pressure on a pedal and, depending on my mood, can maneuver around you as you hesitate to make your left turn.
And I enjoy driving very much. There is no better spot than in my car to think, belt out a song, enjoy a good cry or polish off a bag of Peanut m&ms without anyone being the wiser. Long distance driving has never bothered me either—we’ve driven down to Mississippi to visit Elvis’ birthplace, to Minnesota to marvel at the ore-laden orange waters of Lake Superior and to Florida to eat Mickey waffles but things have changed on America’s highways and I want to know why.
Isn’t the left-lane still only for passing? Or, obviously, for driving like a bat out of hell? Is this no longer taught in driver’s ed programs? Or by the father who sits beside his eager teenager anxious to drive to the mall alone? I was taught this. Weren’t you?
Northeastern highways these days are clogged horribly, partially due to Thule-heavy SUVs--weighed down by magnetic ribbons and prominently positioned GPS monitors--that happily drive the speed limit—or below—in the left lane. They tootle along, bottle-necking blocks of cars driven by apoplectic, hormone-crazed dragons with small bladders who wish only to pass so they can get home to watch Cash Cab. Hmmm….could that only be me? I doubt it. Although the size of your bladder and your television preferences may vary, there must be others frustrated by this new epidemic of left-lane driving. Tell me what you think.
How is it that Buzzy lets you adorn him daily without rushing off? And about the driving--forget it--it's every lane for itself--where ever you can find to move on and around or hang back--it seems to be do whatever in whatever lane you wish. I often find the fast lane to be the slow one these days.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel the slow cars are destined to be in front of me. I might drive a Prius but I do know where I'm trying to go! Not everyone in the DC area seems to know that!
ReplyDeleteDo what I do...if someone is going 60mph in the left lane, give them a little nudge with your car. That'll teach 'em.
ReplyDeleteSusan we learned to drive in NY!!!! that says it all....
ReplyDelete