Friday, March 10, 2017

traffic report by (me!) sandra, tvgp

the day before yesterday  -a huge, what was it..   motorhome of the largest kind/size;  smashed and totaled along the side of the road   [sign of the cross]  carry on.

yesterday, a man   -long pants, no shirt, standing in the middle of 580 west, cars zooming by on either side..    he looked as if he was in shock.   [sign of the cross]    -and there was no way to stop and help or you would just cause another crash.    1/4 mile up the freeway, a white car crashed into the cement barrier.   I did take the next exit, call and make sure..  and yes, highway patrol was already responding.    [sign of cross] carry on.

am I exaggerating to say I must see at least one accident everyday..     on this side, or that side of the freeway..     on side roads.. 

and without itemizing the car accidents I myself have been in   -at accidental fault and as the victim of..

and without mentioning the trucks I see towing cars that have obviously been in accidents..

and without bringing attention to the signs on the freeway that read,  "for minor injuries pull off to the side..."

or noting every near miss; reckless driver..

I just wonder

I wonder very, very much where the boundary lies


like, exactly how many people driving cars?  taking how much time to get from here to there? with what ratio of accidents to per person/car/distance..

before we stop the madness.

-just curious.

as God has released me back into the wild..     after nurturing me in a 10 mile radius for many years

and, I see it all with new I-yi-yi's.

so, in my imagination I ask    

and very well aware my commute is significantly shorter/easier than mass numbers of people, but

plug in your own geographic variables:

              I'm only trying to figure out the boundary  -at what point the cost outweighs the benefits

so let's pretend:

at one time it took 20 minutes to get from place A to place B.   few cars..  accidents very rare.
             same route,  now takes 30 minutes; more cars, accidents more frequent
             same route  starts to take 45 minutes; more cars, accidents more frequent; more severe
            same route begins to take 1 hour; even more cars, accidents common; some fatal
             same route, 1 hour and 15 minutes, even more cars/trucks/motorcycles; accidents daily; severe; fatalities frequent..


-this is in fact the scenario for a lot of people commuting today, who have been commuting for years.  it continues to get worse; not better

and I just wonder,   -for myself, and for everyone   -the boundary?  or as Gladwell might say,  -the tipping point

and, I want to say a big public "thank you!" to KLOVE, KBLX, KFOX, KKIQ among others  -and to my daughter for the custom CD's..  and all the musicians who usurp my stress with

     
"Don't you know, it's gonna be sweat.  (sweat!)
And some tears. And some hard years.
Best believe they'll be hurt.
And some pain.
Expect some rain.
You're gonna make it if you try.
Keep your eye, on the prize.
You can take it.
You might have to work it, but it's gonna be worth it
Don't let em tell you that you dont deserve it.
Don't, let em tell you can't be Anything you wanna be
Don't be deceived
Anything's possible
If, you will just believe
Then you can succeed
It might not be easy
Anything's possible
Sisters and brothers, anything's possible
I know you can... "

***

and I lip sync, and raise my coffee cup, and dance in my seat..   and slam on my breaks

and[ sign of the cross].. carry on..

and I I-spy my lucky number on license plates..    and thank God for the breath-taking green in the rolling hills, and   -hurry! click my turn signal up once to stop the idiosyncratic BEEP

and wonder if the man in the white truck next to me is    -flirting with me..  the way he is speeding up and slowing down..    or maybe just texting and driving..     

and then pump my breaks to alert the truck behind me going 95mph that everyone is STOPPING...

[sign of cross.] carry on..

In Jesus,  -there must be a better way...    's name,   amen!

***

my son:  "i don't know that freeway..  880..."

(me!):   "k, 880 is like 580 and 680, only remove 12 inches from each side of each lane. it is very narrow.  and add a thousand more cars, replace the green rolling hills with sound barrier walls..    my shoulders squish up and in whenever I drive on it..   "

and, I shared, during our wonderful, wonderful breakfast visit at Vics Allstar Kitchen in Downtown Pleasanton,  "Thank You!" Vic,



that 880 is the freeway that was directly behind the house I grew up in, in Hayward.   -and how we used to throw..

well, we were young, stupid and had an apple tree in our backyard.

and then    -CH-     that lead to talking about apples in general..  and how exciting it was when my Mom-ma..      my mom's mom, came to visit, and how amazing to see her transform the apples into applesauce and apple pies..

    -they're not just fun red balls to throw at each other? or over the fence...    who knew...

posted by SHE @ 7:23 AM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home