Friday, July 11, 2008

My Highway Complex

I have to admit. The highway is a terrifying place. I never realized it until my brother began driving and was crawling onto it with my Dad saying in high-pitches, “You have to go faster! We’re never going to make it!” Now it’s my turn to learn how to drive, and I can’t stop gripping the wheel and jerking it whenever I’m not centered in my lane. Tonight was like the third (?) time that I’ve been on the high way, and it was horrible. I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was in a horrible video game. I always lost those video games you know, where you’re supposed to race through strange terrain, while managing to stay in your lane and turn at break-neck speeds. I ALWAYS lost (but it was still fun). Well, suddenly as I was gripping the wheel and my back was bent over the wheel at a far from 90-degree angle, I realized that it was a real-life situation and I was ALIVE and I wanted to stay that way. My Dad didn’t help matters when he said quietly, “We almost lost control of the vehicle back there. Do you realize that? Tell me, Andria, what does it mean to ‘lose control’?” I was like, “Umm, I don’t know. I’m trying to drive here.” He continued to ask me, “What does it mean to ‘lose control’?” And it was all I could do to keep from looking down at my white knuckles and to keep my back straightened out against the seat. Anyways, so my Dad defined it for me by telling me about an accident that he had been in, “…I jerked the wheel, and then my vehicle slid sideways and it slid and slid and I had no control.” So I tried to keep the wheel straight, and then we came on a curve, and my Dad's like, “What are you DOING? There's a curve and we're going straight!” Needless to say, my father is a very brave man. I am the last of his four children and he’s a good sport about the whole “I have more gray hair because of you” thing.

I’ve had dreams about these things. For the longest time as a kid, it was always a given that when I dreamed I suddenly had the power to do amazing things. I could fly without any equipment, I could tell people off, I could walk around wearing questionable garments, and I could drive a car. But have you ever dreamed that you were supposed to go in reverse really fast and when you punched the gas you realized you were in drive? That’s a horrible feeling when you hear the crunch of metal and you don't wake up right away.

Anyways, that’s just something I’m going through right now. Thought I’d share the love.
But hey, I thought up a great quote. Sometimes you have to experience the potholes in life before you can appreciate the highway.

Brilliant! Yes, thank you.

You know that whole ‘My way or the Highway’? Totally lame. Now you have a good new highway quote.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even at my advanced age, I can relate to this. People who know me well know there are two things I try to avoid if at all possible: 1) doctors/medical procedures and 2) highway driving. Non-highway driving allows me to observe the city close up in order to monitor municipal development and to get close to the real essence of the community. At least that's the excuse I use when people get angry at me and complain that I could have saved x amount of minutes by using the highway.

CSJ

Unknown said...

lol Jim

Virgin Diaries


A lot happens on couches. Movie night. Good book. Morning coffee. Making out. Making out. Making out.

Pull up a couch if you want to read about it.