In listening to my son talk about his job in radio, I have learned quite a bit. One of the things I have learned is that there are two kinds of “traffic” in radio.
The traffic guy on air tells you where there are wrecks and delays, road closures and problems. Especially in the early morning and at the end of the day, he is there to warn you and guide you as you find your way to work and then back home again.
The other kind of traffic is the department that puts in all of the ads, so that they are loaded into the system and then sent out at the right time for each show. When the producer hits a button, the commercials are there, ready to go. It takes a large number of people including sales people and others working together to make sure that every ad is in the line up as sold and recorded.
The other day I was driving from errand to errand and was thinking about traffic as the non-radio person thinks of it- all of the cars that are on the road with us. I don’t get as flustered and anxious with traffic as some people do. I like to drive, as long as I’m alone, and being in different conditions just makes for variety in my book.
I started thinking about how traffic is like life and how the way I drive really says a lot about me as a person. I tend to drive with all of my attention on what I am doing. I rarely talk on the phone as I drive and when I do, I am fortunate to have a new enough car to be able to talk hands free. I usually put my purse with my phone in it, in the back seat when I get in the car so I am not tempted to look at it. For the most part I am happy to be alone in my own little world and have zero desire to engage with the outside world by phone while I am driving.
I like to drive alone because the moment someone is in the car with me, I feel responsible for them. I know driving is serious business no matter if you are alone or with someone, but having that person right there adds a degree of responsibility that I really think hinders my driving ability. Plus another person can be a distraction. I rarely offer to drive a group- of course my small, two door car kind of handles that for me!
As I continued to my first errand, I saw someone turn in front of me and cut me off. I wondered what kind of person they were outside of their car. I tend to let people pull in front of me, wait for others to merge and let others go before I do at intersections. It usually means I miss the light because I let people in front of me, but I try not to get in too big of a hurry in life.
I know there are people reading this who are thinking- she’s one of those who pokes along and makes me late because she is in no hurry. And maybe I am. My son says my sports car is wasted on me. Maybe it is. I will say I am always on time and I usually get places quicker than others. That is because I do not stop, I plan ahead and I go directly where I am headed.
I always laugh to myself when I ride with people who seem to go miles out of their way to avoid lights and certain intersections. I just go the most direct route and usually beat every one to the destination. I guess I am like the old tortoise in The Tortoise and The Hare- slow and steady.
I dislike the sound of car horns and think it would be great if every time someone hits their horn, they got a small electrical shock. Not enough to hurt them, but enough to make them stop and think before they pound on the horn the second the light changes.
I found myself going up the hill by the hospital and realized I was poking along behind a truck that kept getting slower and slower. I looked beside me and saw the left lane was clear as far back as I could see, so I put on my blinker and changed lanes, passing the struggling dump truck.
I thought how that was so my life. I saw no reason to change lanes at first. With no reason to hurry, I just plugged along, staying in the shadow of the vehicle in front, never thinking that I should take matters into my own hands, make a move to free myself from the struggle in front of me. I was second in this lane and I just stayed there until I finally realized that there was nothing to stop me from passing except my own choice to stay behind.
That is when it hit me that I drive like I live. I figure everyone else is in a bigger hurry than I am, that everyone else has something way more important to get to than I do. I know that what I am doing is inconsequential in the big scheme of things so why not let everyone else go first. And if I find myself with a clear path to pass I stay with the struggle, figuring there is no reason for me to push ahead.
I have to think people who are volatile on the road are either volatile in their lives or hold their rage in until they get behind the wheel. Neither scenario makes me feel good about being on the streets.
People like me, who just want to be polite and get from point A to point B safely, are probably exactly what annoys those angry, in a hurry drivers. As we wave to the person we let in front of us, causing us to miss the light, the person behind us is probably cussing us!
Sometimes I wish I weren’t so accommodating. Sometimes I wish I didn’t just let everyone in front of me. That I was the kind who pushed their way to the front, that made my presence known and believed that my horn and my revved up motor should be there for all to hear. That where I am going is just as important as where others are going.
For the most part though, I am content to get there when I get there. To make my way with as little trouble as possible. To experience the scenery around me, notice what is going on in the neighborhoods I travel, see who is in the car next to me singing at the top of their lungs, and be polite to whomever wants to go first.
I guess I’ll never be a race car driver- letting everyone else go before me would make me a loser every time. Maybe though, I am not a loser if I get where I am going safely, calmly and with a sense of adventure at all I saw along the way. I might not be first, but I am happy to be along for the ride.
