What a weird month this has been. Went from two wonderful weeks on a luxury cruise ship to almost a week learning how the Amish live. I gained a great deal of respect for these people who have adjusted to a life without electricity, hence a life without television, telephone, cars, lights, iPods, iPads, email, internet. The recent power outage gave me the chance to learn that I could actually live without television, I learned that pizza tastes pretty good prepared on an outdoor grill, that snow keeps stuff cold for days in a cooler, that I can sleep ten or twelve hours a day and can save fuel by having a nice cold bedroom, that it’s a bitch reading by candle light, that the fire in my fireplace is only decoration and throws very little heat, that I should have had more batteries, that my trees had some weak branches. Can you imagine all these free lessons along with a lower electric and oil bill next month? This rustic Amish week was quite an adventure, some discomfort yes, but very enlightening.
With things back to normal I arranged for my brother and me to meet a very dear friend from Canada for lunch in Burlington, Vermont. We became good friends when doing business with the manufacturer he worked for as Sales Manager. It had been around eleven or twelve years since we had seen each other and we both really looked forward to getting together. The 248 miles we needed to travel each way put a little damper on things in addition to a fog which encompassed nearly all of Connecticut, Mass and Vermont. The sun finally came out and we were able to enjoy a great meeting. Three hours reminiscing about shared experiences, enjoying some nice wine and oysters (a passion the three of us share) and promises to do this at least once a year. No the bad part of the day, 248 miles to go before home.
The ride was pleasant until we got down to West Springfield……traffic, yuck! A short MacDonald’s stop helped kill some time and have some of the traffic clear up, at least until we approached Hartford. Creeping along we finally entered route 84 and breathed a sigh of relief, almost home. The relief turned into horror, accident, traffic stopped, fire engines, ambulances all on the way. Great trip suddenly ended, one mile in over thirty minutes. Can’t believe my brother who was driving stayed pretty calm. I handled it pretty well, but began to internally panic over the prospect of no bathroom, especially after having consumed a large coffee at our MacDonald stop. Well needless to say we made it.
I know I sound like a broken record when I constantly proclaim: where the hell are all these cars going. Traffic these days is horrendous. I don’t care what time, what road, what city there, the lines of cars are endless. I still have fond memories (yah, I’m getting old) of country roads with only scenery not the rear ends of cars. What has happened? I have a theory….women. Ladies, don’t get mad, let me explain. Years ago most of us lived in a one car family. You never saw women driving a car alone, especially on a highway. After the big war, luxuries like televisions began to come to market, cars once again became available. These things became difficult to acquire on one salary which was the norm, man worked, woman stayed home. But now women began to take jobs. How do they get to work when the old mans has the car. Another car hits the road, more traffic. Now with both parents driving around, heaven forbid the kids have to walk or take a bus…oops here’s another car on the road. A woman driving alone on a highway flying by at seventy miles an hour is no longer a strange sight. And that, dear readers, is why we have so many damn cars on the road. My theory and I’m sticking to it!!!
Till next time, thanks for reading.
