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The Lost of Art of Driving
I love to drive. Heading down the highway at a nice rate of speed is exhilarating. Even puttering around town just doing mundane tasks is fun if you love your car. Feeling the wind whip through my air and having the command of the machine in the palm of my hands gives me a sense of power than can be equaled by few other things in life. It is the sheer pleasure of driving. Had I been born a man, I dare say I might have become a truck driver not to say that woman can't do the job, but just to say that at the time I was growing up and careers were chosen truck driver was not a choice for women.
After watching a string of traffic pass me this morning, I realize that people are losing the "art of driving." They are turning the pure passion of driving into a "dove-tailing mission," in which a person must do more than one thing at a time or they are "wasting" time. As I watched those pass by, I saw a young woman sipping a cup of coffee while navigating down the road. Another peered into the rearview mirror as she applied her morning makeup, and her eyes darted from her reflection in the mirror and back to the road. Yet another talked on her cell phone while lighting a cigarette and driving with her elbows or knees. I really could not tell. A teenage boy passed who was obviously texting as his eyes looked as if they were having a tennis match with the road...eyes to the road, eyes to the text, eyes to the road, eyes to the text. I got dizzy just watching him.
On a recent vacation, I was following a BMW that was having an enormous problem staying between the lines of the highway. I almost picked up my cell phone and called the highway patrol because I thought surely he was drinking and driving. Upon passing the vehicle, a young man in his early thirties was reading a book as he moved at 70 mph down the interstate...um has anyone heard of audio books? How many times have you been passed by a single person in a vehicle but there is a video playing on the VCR? Are they listening to the audio or are they actually watching a full movie as they drive full speed ahead?
I for one want to encourage those of you that have forgotten or may be too young to even know that you can "just drive." It can be a relaxing and pleasureable experience. Next time you head out the door to work or just to run a few errands, put your makeup on before you leave, read your book the night before, turn your cell phone off or at least don't answer it until you get to your destination (trust me if it's that important... they will leave a message), drink your coffee before you leave the house. Take the time to just drive. You'll be amazed at the great way it can make you feel. Who knows you may actually save a life by being the one that is paying attention and enjoying the art of driving.
